w^
BOSTON
PUBLIC
LIBRARY
BENTON FUNDS
i
The Arabs conveying Mrs. Bradley into CapUvily.
AN
AUTHENTIC NARRATIVE
Of THE
SHIPWRECK AND SUFFERINGS
OF
Mrs. ELIZA BRADLEY,
fHB WIFE or Gapt. James Bradlrt^ of LivEnpooLy
Commander of tHE Ship Sallt^ which was wftMCK*
ED ON fHE COAST OF BARBARTy IN JUNB 1818.
The Crew and Passengers of the above Ship fell in«
to the hands of the Arabs, a few days after their
Shipwreck, among whom unfortunately was Mrs.
Bhadlet, who, after enduring incredible hard-
ships during six months captivity (five of
which she was scperatcd from her hu&band
and every other civilized being) she was
fortunately redeemed out of the hands
of the unmerciful barbarians, by Mr.
VViLLSHiaE, the British Consul,
resident at Mogadore.
WRITTEN BY HERSELF.
go* The narrative of the Captivity and Sufferings of
the unfortunate Mrs. Bradlby, is allowed by all those
who have perused it to be the most affecting that ever
appeared in print— yet, by the blessings of God, this
amiable woman endured deprivation and hardship with
incredible fortitude— in a barbarous land» skk became
a Convert to the RELtGION of a Blessed Redeemer.
BOSTON-'Piinlcd by James Walden— 1820.
PHEFACE
TO THE Am«iigan Edition.
AS the present ajc U in era of adventure, and
the field extensive on which enterprise may take he^r
ran^f in consequence of the vtst modern improve-
ments in the arts and sciences, it is tot surprizing
that the press should bring to light numerous works
of all descripiions. The facility of intercourse be-
tween the various parts of the world, and the far
and wide extensive stale oi commerce, iiavc given
origin to many narratives of voyages and irayels as
well as accounts of •hipwrecks, and the various dis-
asters attendant on them. In works of this nature
we read of numerous hair-breadth escapes, and as-
tonishing interpositions of Divine Providence, on
behalf of the concerned — together wi^h incidents
ol so extraordinary a nature, that the mind is wrapt
in astonishment — and as we peruse we are lost in -li^*
wonder and amazement.
The following circumstanlirtl account of sufferings
almost beyond human endurance, is a little work of
real merit. The simplicity of the langu*ge—ihc
spirit of piety it breathes — and the morals it incul-
PREFACE.
catcs, cannot fail to cause it to be read with delight
and edification by all those whose thoughts tend to
serious reflection* If patience under affliciion con-
stitutes one of the cardinal virtues, we there find it
exemplified in our christian heroine, throughout the
whole of her thorny peregrination. The occurrence
of her shipwreck, captivity and deliverance, afford
convincing proof of the omnipresence of the All-
seeing Eye. We recommend its perusal to the at-
tention of our young females in a particular man-
ner, as Mrs. Bradley sets a shining example to hep
9^yL m her struggles against the calamities of life^
under circumstances the most uncomfortable.
This publication has passed through a number of
editions in London- Ii was altered but very little
from the original manuscript of Mrs, B. as the
English publisher declares.— We therefore think it
a work highly worthy of being patronized in this
country, from the conciseness and simplicity of the
style, and the religious fervor which it breathes.—
The publishers of the European edition, from which
this is copied being acquainted with the family of
the writer of this narrative, and the circumstances
©f the unfortunate voyage upon which it was found-
cdj clearly demonstrates the truth of the facts con-
tained in the following pages.
Without any further remarks, we now submit the
following interesting memoirs to the attention of the
American public.
SHIPWRECK AND SUFFERINGS
OF
Mrs. ELIZA BRADLEY,
I WAS born in Liverpool (Eng.) of creditable
parents in the year 1783, — in the year 1802, at the
age of 19, 1 vas married to Capt. Xames Bradley^
my present husband. Who, having been bred to
the seas, was possessed of no other means of sup^
port, and knew of no other way to obtain a liveli-
hood ; hence, my endeavors, after our marriage, to
induce him to pursue some other occupation, at-
tended with less dangers, proved unfortunately in-
effectual. In May, 1818, my husband was appoint-
ed to the command of the ship Sally, bound from
Liverpool to Teneriffe : and I having expressed a
wish to accompany him on a former voyage, to Ma-
deira, he insisted on my accompanying him on this,
The ship was freighted with all pos»ibtc dispilch,
and on the morning of the 12th of May, wc embark-
ed, thirty. two in number, comprising the ship's crew
and passengers, of which 1 was the only female.—
Nothing worthy of record traiispircd on our voyage,
yntil nearly five weeks from the day of o*ir de-
parture, when we experienced a tremrndouft storm,
which continued to rage with unabatrd fury for »ix
days, and to add to our distress, it was discovered
that the ship, from the violent working; of the sea,
had sprung a leak in several places ; both pumps
were kept continually going, and were found aimoet
insufficient to free the ship of water. The whole
crew began now to turn their eyes upon my husband)
who advised the immediate lightening of the skip, as
tlic only measure ihat could be adopted to preserve
•ur lives—the hatches v/ere torn up, and the ship
discharged cf the most weighty part of her cargo,
but the Etorni continued to ragc> and the leaks in-
creasing, it was soon concluded by ihe officers ut-
terly impossible to save i^liher the ship or their c.'-
fecta ; the preservation -f even their lives becoming
every moment more difficult to ihem> they now
began to apply every thought and deed to that con-
sideration. Since the commencement of the furious
storm, they had not been enabled to keep any reckon-
ing, and had been driven many leagues out ©f their
course.
Such was our perilous situation ficm the ifthto
;he 2iih Jyne, in tlie evening of which the storr.)
began t« abate — the morning ensuing, although tiie
sea had become much more calm, there was so thick
a fog, that the ship't crew found it impossible to
discern an object three rods a-head of them, and to
add to our consternation, by the colour of the water
it nas discovered that we were on soundings, while
the breakers were distinctly heard at the leeward—
the storm had rendered the ship unmanageable, and
flhe was considered so completely a wreck, that the
officers thought it their wisest plan to put her before
the wind, until they could discover the land, (which
they imagined not far off) and then attempt the
jraining the shore with the boats — but, the day clos-
ed without any discovery of land being made, al-
^ough the roar of the surf indicated that it could not
ke far distant. The ship's crew, nearly worn down
vrith fatigue, as many of them as could be spared
off deck now sought a little necessary repose below :
but, about midnight, they were suddenly aroused
from their slumbers by the violent striking of the
ship against a chain of rocks, and with so much vio-
lence as to open her stern i Even the little hope
that the ship's crew had till then preserved, seemed
to fail them at once— on the instant, the ship rcsounil-
cd with their lamentable exclamaiions, imploring the
mercy of their Creator ! indeed to form an ade-
quate idea of our distress, one must have been a
^vitnc88 of it. The reader cannot suppose but tkai
I too in a moment like this, must have shared the
terrors of the crew ; but my fortitude, by the ble;-
sings of Heaven, was much more probable than what
would have been exhibited by maiiy females in my
situation — the extremity of the n/i> fortune, vfith the
certainty of its being inevitable, s rved to supply me
■with a sort of seeming firmness. My poor husband,
in his endeavors to reconcile me to my fate, seemed
to forget his o^Tn perilous situation ; indeed his vis-
ible steadiness and resolution happily imposed so
far upon the whole crew, that it inspired them, even
in the instant of destruction, with such confidence in
him, that rendered them attentive and obedient to his
directions.
Never could a night be passed in more wretch-
edness! the storm again gathered, and while the
rain fell in torrents, the waves rising every instant,
covered our bark, and rolled their mountains over
our heads — in such a situation, stretched along on
the outside of the hulk, fastening ourselves to every
thing we could lay hold of, drenched through with
pain, spent with the constant efforts we were obliged
to exert against the fury of the waves, which en-
deavored to wash us off from our hold, we at length
perceived the morning's dawn, only to afford us a
clearer view of the dangers we had passed, and
those v?e had yet to encounter.
This prospect of our situation appeared still more
tremendous ; we perceived indeed, that we were
not far from land, but we saw that it was impossible
for us to reach it. The raging of the sea would have
daunted the stoutest and most expert swimmer ; for
the waves rolled with such fury, that whoever at-
tempted to g«in the shore, must have run the risk
of being launched back into the main ocean or dash-
ed to pieces against the ship or shore. At this sight
and reflecuon the whole crew was seized with the
extremity of despair : their groans and exclamations
redoubled, and were repeated with such strength
and ferrency, that they were to be heard amidst the
raging of the winds, the roaring of the thunder, and
the dashing of the waves, which, all joined together,
augmented the horror of the sound.
The day was once more near closing, we reflect-
ed with terror on ihc last night, and trembled be-
forehand at that which was to come — there was in-
deed a small boat attached to the ship, but in no con-
dition to weather even the short passage that ap-
peared to be between us and the land. We passed
the night with feelings more horrible, if possible,
than on ihs former ; the exhausted state we had been
reiucfd to, by our past labor, left us hardly power
to sustain the present.
The iuccccding morning our spirits were a little
revived by beholding the sun arise, a sight all abso.
lutely despaired of, when we saw it setting, and
when death, by putting an end to our calamities,
would certainly be a blessing ; but the care of life,
is the strongest passion in the human breast; it con-*
tinues with us to the last moment of existence ; the
miseries one feels may weaken, perhaps, but rarely
Tilinguish it. Our first emotion, on findiug otir-
— lo-
st! vea sliil clineing fast to the feisel, was to oWtr
up our ibinksgivings to Heaven, for having still prer
lerved us alivey even in such a deplorable situation,
10 raise up our suppliant hands in petition to Provi-
dence, to complete its miracle, bj af?ording us some
unforeseen means of escaping to the shore— there
never was sure a more fervent prayer. Heaven at
length, seemed to look down with compassion on our
miseries and danger^the wind began to abate, and
the various agitation of the sea to subside to that de-
gree, that the officers conceived it possible for u*
to reach the shore in the ship's boat.
The boat was but small, it could not contain a-
bove a third part of our number ; wt could not at-
tempt to embark all at once without sinking it ; ev-
*:r3r one was sensible of the difficulty, but no one
would consent tc wait for a second passage ; thte
fear of some accident happening to prevent a return*
and the terror of lying another night exposed on the
hulk, made every one obstinate for being taken in the
first— it was however unanimously agreed by all,
that my husband and myself should be ameng the
number who should go first into the boat. The sea
having now almost become a calm, the boat con-
taining as many at it was thought prudent to take
on board, left the wreck, and in less than half an
hour we reached the ihore> and were all safely land-
ed ; and were soon after joined by the remainder
«^f the ship's crew, who were as ftrtunatt as our-
asjvcs in retching the shore, tnd with as lUtlc iik"-
flCUli)'«
Being now placed on dry land, we toon perceWcd
tbal we had new difficulties to encounter ; higli
craggy rocks nearly perpendicular, and of more thao
two hundred feet in height, lined the shore as far as
the sight could extend. The first care •f the
crew was to seek among the articles floated ashore
from the wreck, for planks and pieces of wood, to
erect a covering for the night ; and they succeeded
beyond their hopes — the right was extremely bois-
terous, and nothing beneath us but sharp rocks on
which to extend our wearied limbs, we obtained
but Ihtle repose. Early the ensuing morning it was
to onr sorrow discovered that but very little of lh«
wreck was remaining, and those of the crew who
were best able to walk, went to reconnoitre the shorcj
and to see whether the sea had brought any frag-
ments of the wreck ; they were 00 fortunate as to
tind a barrel of f^our, and a keg of salt pork«— soon
after they had secured these, the tide arose and pus
an end to their labor.
Captain Bradley now called together the ship's
crew, and having divided the provision among them,
ciquired of them if they consented to his continuing
in the command ; to which they unanimously
agreed — be then informed them, that from the best
calculatious he could make, he had reason to believe
that we were on the Barbary coast, and as we had
i.o \vc!»pon5 of defence, much was to be apprelicnd-
— 12—
edlr^m the ferocity of the natives, if wc should be
so unfortunate as to be discovered by tiiem. The
coast appeared to be formed of perpendicular rocks
to a great height, and no way could be discovered
by which we might mount to the top of the preci-
pices, so steep was the ascent. Having agreed to
keep together, we proceeded along the sea side, in
hopes to find some place of more easy ascent, by
which we might gain the surface of land above us,
where we were in hopes of discovering t spring of
water with which to allay our thirst — after travelling
many miles, we at length found the sought for paa-
sjige, up a precipice, which resembled a flight of
stairs, and seemed more the production of art than
of nature. We soon gained the- summit of the
cliffs ; but instead of springs of water, or groves to
shelter us from the rays of the scorching sun, what
was our surprise, to see nothing before us, but a
barren sandy plain, extending as far as. the eye could
reach.
The day was now drawing to a close, and des-
pairing of meeting with relief, 1 threw myself upon
the sand, and after wishing for death a thousand
times, 1 resolved to await it on the spot where 1 lay*.
Why should I go further to seek it, amidst new
miseries I I was indeed so determined to die, that I
awaited the moment with impatience as the termina-
tion of my misery. Amid these melancholly re-
flections, sleep at length overpowered me. My
poor husband did. every thing in his power to al!c-.
—13-
\S»tc my sufferings ; he represented to me the pre-
bability of our meeting with friendly aid, by the
means of which we might be conducted to some
commercial port, at which we might probably obtain
a passage for Europe. We passed the night at thii
place, half buried in the sand. At the ^awn of day
we again put forward, trayelling in a southeast di-
rection. The cravings of hunger and thirst, be-
came now more pressing than ever, and we founi
nothing to appease them— before the close of the
day we were, however, cheered by the account of
one of the sailors who had been dispatched a-head
on the look out, who informed us that he had trav-
ersed the rocky borders of the shore, until he had
discovered an extensive flat almost covered with
mussels. We hastened to the spot, where we pasi-
ed the night, and the next morning found ourselves
so much strengthened, that we resolved to remain
there the whole day, and the following night.
At the dawn of day, we took our departure, and
before the setting of the sun, it was conjectured that
we had travelled nearly thirty miles ; but, without
any prospect of relief— indeed every hour now
seemed to throw a deeper gloom over our fate.
Having in vain sought for a resting place, we were
this night obliged to repose on the sands. This
was indeed a crisis of calamity— the mif ery we un-
derwent was too shocking to relate. Having ex-
isted for three days without water, our thirst was
C
— 14-r.
-l©o great to be any longer endured. Early the cni-
suing morning we resumed our journey, and as the
sandy desert was found to produce noihing but a
little wild sorril, it was thought sdviseablc again to
direct our course along the sea shore, in hopes of
finding some small shell- fish that might afford us
\ some refreshment^ although but paorly calculated to
\ allay our thirsts.
j/^ . Believing from our present feelings that we could
^ not possibly survive a day longer without drink, and
no signs of finding any appearing, the last ray of
luope was on the eve of fading away, when, about
jnid-day, the second mate, (who had been sent for-
vjard to make discoveries) returned to us with the
joyful tidings that he had found a pool of brackish
"water I a revelation from heaven could not have
cheered us more I condueted by the mate, we hast-
ened to the pool, which contamed about half a bar-
rel of stagnated water ; but impure as it was, it serv..
ed as a very seasonable relief to us, for without
something to allay my thirst, I am sure I should not
have survived the night. Having at length succeed-
ed in reaching the sea shore, we were miserably dis-
appointed by the state of tke tides, which prevented
our obtaining any kind of shell fish.
The next day brought no alleviation of our mis-
cries — necessity impelled us to proceed, though
hope scarcely darted a ray through the gloom of our
prospects. My dear husband seeming to forget his
own miseries, did every thing in his power to alle*
--•15—
viate mine—from the time of our shipwreck, he was
never heard once to murmur : but by precept a^
example! endeavored to keep up the spirits ofiho^e
v?ho had as little cause to murmur as himself— for
my own part, the miswies that 1 had endured since
that melancholly event, had afforded me but little
leisure to reflect upon the situation of any one but
myself. At the fall of the tide, we were so fortunate
as to find a few mussels, and then following the
windini^s of the coast, we pursued our journey for
three or four days, over sharp craggy rocks, where
perhaps no human being ever trod before) uncertain
which way to proceed, incommoded by tlxi heat, and
exhausted by the fatigues of our march. In thi'i
eur most deplorable situation, however, and at the
very instant that wc were all nearly famished with
hunger, Heaven was pleased to send us some relief
when we least expected it — some of the crew who
led the way, had the good fortune to discovers
dead &eai on the beach — a knife bein^ in possession
of one of them, they cut up their prey, dressed par^
of the flesh on the spot, and carried the rest with
them.
As we were now in possession of provision, and
could not expect to find water by traversing the sea
shore, it was thought most advisable once more to
bend our course backward, m search of it amon^
th« barren sands ; for from our feelings we judged
that we could not possibly survive a day longer with-
out drink ; our tongues were nearly as dry jis
iparcbed leather. Fear of meeting with the oativ^s
(from whom they expected no mercy) appeared to
%t the prerailing principle of the actions of most 6f
the crew which must have been very powerful in
them) when it was superior to the prevailing calls of
hunger ihd thirst. As we traversed the sandy de-
swt, we searched in rain for some sorts of nouriah-
wient ; there were neither roots nor vegetables fit
for eating to be found. Our thirst increased every
moment, but the hope of being able to assuage it,
sustained us every step, and enabled us to travel %n
till the afternoon. We cast our eyes around, but
cculd see nothing to rest our wearied sight upon,
but a boundless end barren waste, extending on all
sides. Such an horrid prospect threw us into the
most shocking state of despair; our exhausted
spirits died within us; we no longer thought of con-
tinuing our hopeless and uncertain routCj in which
we could not possibly foresee any end to our wants
and miseries, except what we might have received
upon the spot where we then laid ourselves down,
from death alone— not uniii this moment did my
fortitude forsake me— the weight of my misfortunes
had uow become too heavy for my strength, or ra.
ther weakness, to support— I felt as if the earth I
pressed had been heaped upon me ! I exhorted my
husband to leave me here, and to avail himself of
the powers that he had yet remaining, to hasten for-
ward to some inhabited part of the country, from
whence he might have an opportunity of once more
— ir—
returning to his native land. My dear husband
could only answer with tears and moans, while 1
continued to persuade him to our seperation^ urging
the absolute necessity of it, in Tain. " No, my dear
wife (said he) I will never consent to abandon yoti»
while life remains — with the Almighty nothing is
impossible — if we put our trust in Hina, he may
prove compassionate towards us and give us strength
to pursue our journey, and support us in our trials
—if it is His will that we should perish in a foreign
land, far distant from kmdred^and friends, the will of
God must be done, and we ought not to muf mur.—
He certainly orders every thing in the best possible
manner, and he who takes cave of the ravens, will
not forsake his own children in the hour of afilic-
tion." My husband now kneeled down by my side,
and offered up a petition for our speedy relief; in
which ho was joined by the whole crew. After our
pious devotions were over, it was agreed by the com*
pany that apart of their number should rewain with
me, and the remainder (who were least fatigued),
should go in search of water.
The sun was now near setting, and I fill into a
state of torpiid insensibility, without motion, and al-
most deprived of all reflection, like a person between
sleeping and waking; 1 felt no pain, but a certain
Hatlessness and uncomfortable sensation affected my
whole body.
About two hours after the party had departed
in search of water, they returned nearly out of
>fe5th, and apparently much affrighted, and inform-
j»d us that they had been pursued by a party of the
natives (sonae of whom wcr« mounted on camels)
and that they were then but a short distance frosi»
us J they had scarcely finished their story, when a
dreadful yell announced the arrival of their pursu-
ers 1 Their appearance indeed was frightful, being
nearly naked, and armed yrith muskets^ spears and':
3cimetars.
Our company having no weapons with which to-
defend themselves, thcv approached and prQstrate4
themselves at the feet of the Arabs (for such they
proved to he) as a token of submission. This they '
did not however seem to regard, but seising us with
all the ferocity of cannibals, they in an instant fttrip-
ped us almost naked. For my own part, such had
been my sufferings, that 1 no longer felt any fear
of death — such was my thirst at this moment, that 1
think I should have been willing to have exchanged
TBy life fox a draught of fresh water.
As soon as the Arabs finished stripping us, a warm
contest arose among themselves, each claiming us
individually as his proporty. This contest lasted
for more than an hour, nor could 1 compare the
combatants to any thing but hungry wolves contend-
ing for their preyJ— scmetimcs we were laid hold of
by a dozen of them at once, attempting to drag us
off in different directions—they aimed deadly blows
5it each other with their scimeiers, within two feet.
«>J my hcM> aod inflicted wounds wUich laid ihe
SesK of their bodies open *m the bone ? Bccrtmir/^g
wearjr of the bloody contest an crtd Arab (who piob*
ably was a chief) at length ccmni'drdcU ihtm to de-
sist, and promisirifaf them, as I have sidcc learned,
that vffc should be posscsstd by those only wliu had
the besi claim lo us-— this poia toeing at Ifugth
amicobiy teitlcd among therm, and each Arab having
taken poasfbsion of vrliat had been apportio.jcd to
hina as his rightful property, my husband by signs
(exhibiting his mouih as parched and dry as the sand
undei foot) gave them to unciersiand that our thir»t
was too great to be any longer endured, and that'
•if we were not provided with something immediate-
ly to allay it, they must expect soon to be in posse«*
sion of nothing but our dead carcasses !
As the Arabs appeared now to esteem us (poof
."iiiscrabie objects] of too much value to suffer us t©
perish for any thing within their power to afforii
us, they drove up their camsls and took from the
back of one of ti;em a goat skin, sewed up like a
■wallet, and containing about four gallons of brack-
ish slimy water, which they poured into a callabash
and gave us to drink. Bad as this water was, and
nauicous to the smell, i think we could have drank
half a gallon each ; but having finished the con-
tents of the skin, they refused us any more ; but
pouuing tothceast^ gave us to understand that al-
though water was with them a precious article,
they iu a few days should arrive at a place where
ilicy should obtain a plentiful supply, and we fnighl
drink our fill.
The Arabs now began to make prcparataon to
depart— -the one by whom I was claimed, and who I
»hall hereafter distinguish by the title of Masteb,
was in ray view more savage and frightful in his ap-
pearance, than ar»y one of the rest. He was about
six feet in height, of a tawny complexion, and haJ
no other clothing than a piece of woolen cloth
wrapped round his body, and which extended from
below his breast to his knees ; his hair was stout
and bushy, and stuck up in every direction like brus-
lles upon the b?xk of a hog ; his eyes were small
but were red and fiery, resembling those of a ser-
pent when irritated ; and to add to his horrid ap-
pearance, his beard (which was of a jet black and
cuily) was of more than afoot in length !~such !
assure the reader is a true description of the mon-
ster, in human sfaape, by whom 1 was doomed to be
held in servitude, and for what length of time, Hea-
ven then only knew !
The draught of water with " which I had been
supplied, having revived me beyond all expectation,
my master compelling bis camel to knecJ, placed
tne OQ his back. My situation was not so uncom-
fortable as might be imagined, as they have sad-
dlci constructed to suit the backs of these animals,
and on which a person may ride with tolerable case
•-•the saddle is placed on the camel's back before
the hump, and secured by a rope iindcr his belly.
—2 2 —
Thus prepared, we set out, none of the captives
being allowed to ride but myself. The unmerciful
Arabs had deprived me of my gown, bonnet, shoee
and stockings, anii kft me no other articles of clotb-
ing but my petticoat and shimmy, which expos^'t
my head and almost naked body to the blazing heat
of the sun's darting rays. The fate of my poor hus-
band, and his companions, was however still worse ;
the Arabs had divested them of every article of
clothing but their trousers ; aud while their naked
bodies were scorched by the sun, the burning sand
raised blisters upon their feet which rendered iheii'
travelling intolerably painful. If any through ina-
bility slackened his pace, or fell in the rear of the
maia body, he was forced upon a trot by the appiica*
tion of a sharp stick which his master carried in his
hand for that purpose.
About noon, we having signified to the Arabs our
inability to proceed any further without some re-
freshment, they came to a halt» and gave us about
half a pint of slimy water each ; and for food some
roasted insects, which 1 then knew not the name of,
but afterward found were locusts, which abounded
very much in some pans of the desert. In my then
half starved state I am certaia that I never in my
life partook of th© most palatable dish with half so
good an appetite. Having refreshed, we were again
hurried forward, and were not pc mitied to step
again until about sunset, when the Arabs came it
a halt for ihe night, and pitched t^ir tents— my
—22^
master orilered me to dismount, and after he had
turned his camel loose to feed upon the juicelcss
shrubs that were thinly scattered about the tent, he
presented me with about half a pint of water, and a
kandful more of the insects 1 after which 1 was
permitted to lie down in the tent, to repose for the
night ; this was an indulgence that was not allowed
the other captives, and would not probably have
been allowed me, had it n( t been for my very weak
atate, which caused my masterio fear^ that without
proper attention, he might lose his property ; for it
appears (by what I have since learned) that they
considered us of about as much rslue as theit cam-
els, and to preserve our lives were willing to use
us with about as much care and attention. My poor
husband and his companions were compelled to take
up their lodging on the dry sand, with nothing but \he
canopy of heaven to cover themt I this night, as I
did every succeeding night before I closed my eyes,
returned thanks to Almighty God for preserving me
and enabling me to bear up under my heavy afflic-
tions during the day past ; to Him I looked, and on
Him alone depended, for a deliverance from bitter
captivity— .nor did I each morning fail to return
Him thanks for his goodness in preserving me
through the night.
At day ligh) we were called on to proceed. The
Arabs struck their tents, and I was placed as before
en my master's camel ; while the other captives
were compelled to hobble along on foot as well as
ihey eculU, A few moments befere we commenced
^ «»23 —
otrr jeurney, I v/as pciniitted to exchange a few
words vilh my I ubltand — be informed me with
t«ars in his eyes, that his bodily strength began to
fail him, and that if he did not meet with better
treatment, he was fearful that he should not survive;
mat^y days 4 in the ni^an time expressing a hope that
®od would preserve my life, and again restore me
to my fiit;ndf I comfaricd him a*! I couid, assur*
«d him that if we put our trust in God, He. certainly
Would remember mercy in the midst of judgment?
and would so far restrain the wrath of our enemicsj
as to prevent their »urderiag us. And the mor^ to
encourage him, I then repeated the two following
texts of scripture — " I shall not die but live : And
declare the woiks of the Lord. * Psalms cxviii 17;—
'< Why art thou cast down, O sciv soul ? And why
an thou disquitttd with me ? Hope thou in God i
for I shall yet prair<e him. who is the health of my
countenance, and my God'* Psalms xiii. II.
By sunrise we were again on our march, and
travelled until night, over a sandy desert, without
sight of any living creature but ourselves — sands and
skies were all that presented to view, except now
and then small spots of suriburnt moss — indeed be-
fore us, as far as eye-sight could extend, presented
a dreary prospect of sun burnt plains without grass^
^tick or shrub. Some of my poor unfortunate fel-
low captives being unable 10 proceed any further^
the Arabs came to a halt a little before sunset ; and
pitched their tcntS;2md iiav in g unloaded their cam-
cl», they dispatched two of their companions Witha
camel to the west. We were now presented with
a like quantity of water and food, as on the day pro-
ceeding, and permitted to lie down under a corner
of a tent to rest our wearied limbs. Here I had
another opportunity to eonyerse with my husband)
and to witness more minutely the wretched condition
of my other companions in distress ; some of whom
appeared to be on the ere of exchanging a world of
trouble and sorrow for a better^ The sustenance al-
lowed them was hardly sufficient to keep the breath
ef life in them — having been depiived of nearly all
their clothing, and their bodies exposed to the sum
they were rendered so weak, emaciated and sore»
that they could scarcely stand*— they al) thought that
they could not live another day ! I exhorted them
not to fail to call on the Supreme Being in a proper
manner for help, as He alone had power to deliver
them from the hands of their unmerciful masters ;
and if ever so fortunate as to meet with a deliver-
ance, and to be once more restored to their families
and friends, never to let it be said of them as of Is-
rael— ^" They forgat his works, and the wonders he
shewed them ; they remembered not his hand, nor
the day that he delivered them from the enemy.*'
A little after sunset, the two Arabs who had been
dispatched with the tamel to the west, returned,
drWing the beast before them — as soon as they reach-
ed the tent we discovered thai th«y had brought a
SiliiB of fresh fyater (which they probably had been in
quest of) aad a quantity of a small ground rooi,
which in appearance, resembled European ground-
nuts, md were equally as agreeable to the taste. Of
tht watar they allowed ui nearly a pint each, which
was a seasonable relief, for without it, 1 am cer-
tain that some of my companions would not have
survived the night. It was pleasing to nae to wit-
ness the apparent gratitude, which every one of the
crew now manifested toward Him, who had wrought
their deliverance from immediate starvation«»after
we had pftrtaken of our scanty meal, it was proposed
by me that we should all kneel, and individually re*
turn ihaijks to God, for this wonderful proof of hit
infinite goodness— a proposition that was cheerfully
agreed to by all, the Arabs in the mean time stand-
ing over us, apparently much diverted with a view
of the altitude in which we placed our bodies during
our pious devotions.
The ensuing morning we started very early, trav»
elling west, and about noon arrived at the well fronB
which the water brought us had been obtained the
day previous — the well had the appearance of having
been dug many years, and contained five or six feet
of water, of a quality too inferior to be drank by our
meanest brutes, if any better could be obtained**
Preparaiiens were now made to water the camelsj
they having never drank a drop to our knowledge
since the day we fell into tho hands of the Arabs. -•
Troughs sufficiently large to contain half a barrel
'^as filled twice, and the whole drat.k by a single
E
camel — nature seems to have formed these animals
for the express purpose of crossing the sandy dc"
sarts, and when watered, to drink a sufficient quan»
tity to last them trom four to six weeks; wai this
rot the case, they certainly must perish in travelling
from well to well, which are situated many miles
fiom each other. For my own part, so great was
the quantity of water given to the camels, that i was
tindei very serious apprehetuion that none would be
Jelt for us ; for so great now was our thirst, that
had we been permitted, we would have gladly thrust
in our heads, and drank out of the same trough with
the camels i but this we were not allowed to do?
nor would they allow us Jo approach the well until
the camels had been supplied with as much water as
they could drink ; this being done, the troughs
were next filled for us, when we were permitted {in
imitation of the camels) to kneel down, thrust in our
heads and drink until wc were satisfied. 1 am
confident, that I drank three pints, and wiihout pro-
ducing the serious effects that one would apprehend
after suffering so much from thirst. I now by signs
begged of my master for something to eat ; but he
gave me only a very small quantity of the roots
heretofore de^cribed, at the same time by feigns, giv-
ing nie to undtrstand that in two or three days, we
should reach the place of their destination, where hia
family dwelt, and who would supply me with as
much food as 1 should want.
The Arabs next proceeded to fill their goatskins
— 2r^
wiih water, vrhich having done, they slung them on
each side of their camels— the camel belonging to
my master was next ordered to kneel, and I again
placed on his back — tbus prepared we again resum-
ed our journey, xra veiling east. The face of the
dcsart in every direction had still the same barren
appearance, and at noon day the rays of the sun had
a most powerful effect upon our almost naked bo-
dies— having been deprived of my bonnet, and hav-
ing nothing to defend my head from the sun*s scorch"
ing rays, the pain that 1 endured was extremely ex-
cruciating ; yet, I praised God that I was not doom-
ed to walk on foot and at night to lie in the scorch-
ing sands, as my fellow sufferers were compelled
to do.. During the day we continued our dreary
route wiihout the discovery of any thing that could
serve to relieve the cravings of nature—we con-
tinued however to travel until eight o'clock in the
evening, when the Arabs came to a halt, and pitched
their tents for the night To altempt to describe
|he situation of my poor husband, as well as the rest
of his unfortunate fellow-captives, at this time, would
be a thi.ng impossible for any one to do but those
who witnessed it. The sun had scorched and blis-
tered our bodies from head to foot ; I will not pre-
tend to describe their feelings ; the compassionate
reader will paini our distress in his imagination in
stronger colours than can be described by words*
We had nothing now left to eat ; our masters, how»
^ver. bad the humanity to give us as much water a^
—28—
we could drink, and after returning thanks to heaven
ss usual, for our preservation through the day, we
retired to seek repose lor the night.
The next morning we were ordered early to arise
and prepare for our journey ; but three rf my un-
fortunate fellow captives (one of whom was a lad of
but 15 years of age) signified to their masters, by
signs, liieir inability to proceed one step further un-
less ihcy were provided with some sustenance, of
which ihcy had been deprived for the last thii ty-six
liours. The unmerciful Araba thereupon became
greatly enraged, and beat those who had complained
of their we&kness most unmercifully ; but the blows
inflicted upon the poor wretches, only increased
their inabiruy to travel. The Arabs finding that
blows had no effect, and unwilling to part with any
of us, they next consulted together what was best to
be done to preserve our lives, it being evident to
them that none of us could survive another d?.y
without some kind of nourishment, of >hich they
were thcm.selves now destitute ; they at length a-
greed to kill one of their camels ; and the one on
which I rode, being the oldest of the drove, they ob-
tained the consent of my master to butcher that ;
the busiaess being thus settled, they began to make
preparation for the slaughter. They compelled the
poor animal to kneel down in the usual manner, as
when about to be relieved from or to receive a load
and then wiih a rope hauling his head back ncai If
— 29—
to his rump, they wuh one of their scymeters, ^t
his throat ; the blood they caught in a bucket as it
flowed fron\ the wound, f.ud were extremely careful
not to lose a drop— such was our hunger at this
time, that we wculd have gladly drank it as it stream-
ed warm from the beast. Indeed such was the state
of Djur stomachs, that I am cocfident that we should
not have loathed animal food even in a state of pu-
trefaction I
The camel was now dressed by the Arabs in much
the same manner as the Europeans dress a butcher-
ed ox ; but there was not a panicle of any thing'
belonging to the carcase, but was esteemed of too
much value to be wasted : even the hide and entrails
were carefully preserved. The Arabs, assisted by
the captives, next busied themselves in g^lh«ring
small twigs and dry grass, with which to cook a part
of the animal. The blood was first poured into a
copper kf ttle, and set on the fire to boil, the Aralis
siirring it viih slicks until it became a thick cake ;
this being done, the entrails (with very little cleans-
ing) was next deposited in the kettle and set on the
nre to bake or stew, after which the whole was- dis-
tributed among the captives to eat ; this was a re-
lief that none of us anticipated when we arose in the
morning; nor did I fail on this occasion to pour out
my ^oul in rapturous, effusions of thankfulness to the
Supreme Being ; nor did I find it very difficult to
persuade my fello*? captives to folio's;' my example^
-.so—
this, our woudcrful deliverance, wbile on the very
brinkof starvation, was to me another proof of the
mercy and goodness of God, and that with us in the
present instance he had eminently fulfilled the word
eontaincd in Psalms cvi. 46 : '' He made them also
to be pitied, of all those that caiiied them captives***
While we were devouring the food allotted uSf
the Arabs were employed ia cutting up and roast-
ing the carcase, which done, they, like ravenous
volves, devoured moie ib;nhaIfof it, and the re-
remainder drp^siied in their bags slung upo.i their
camels. Preparations were now made for our de-
parture. I begged of my master to indulge me with
the privilege of conversing a few moments with my
husband, bcioie we reasiaumed our journey, as h«
had informed me, in a few words the evening pre-
vious, that he had soniething important to comaiu*
nicatr ; after a good deal of persuasion the indul-
gence was granted me, and my husband having beg-
fjed the same indulgence and obtained the same lib-
erty of his master, we were permitted to seat our-
selves in one ccrner of the tent to converse. My
husband now informed me that by what he could
h.nn from the Arabs, (as they were of different
clars,) we were soon to b esepeiated andf conveyed to
diflfeccDt pirts of the country, and retained as cap.
tives, until they could have an opportunity to dis-
pose of us to some of their brethren bound to the
capital of Morocco, where an English consul resided^
and of whom they expecud a good price, as they
knew it was his duty to redeem all the European
captives that should fall into their hands That he
had done ail in his powtr to persuade his master to
purchase me, to prevent our seperation, but without
any success; his master informing him that my
my master could not be persuaded to part with me,'
as he well knew that the English Consul would
pay double price for the redemption of a female
captive ; that he then by signs gave him to under*
atand that the female captive was his wife, and that
that the Consul would give him four times the sum
f{.r the redemption of both together, (that they might
be each other's compat y to their own cuuiitry) than
he woukl to be obliged o redeem them seperatcly
at different periods: but his'^aster could not be
persuaded either to purchase rre or to part with him.
Here my poor husbimd concluded by observing, that
as I was used withless severity by the natives than
any of the other captives, he hoped that 1 should be
so fortunate as once more to gain my liberty, by the
intercession of some friend who might hear of my
ceptivity ; but, as for himself, he had become so ex.
trcmt^Iy feeble, in const qucncc of the treatment
\ihich he met with from the natives, that he des-
paired of living to regain his liberty. I begged of
him not to despair, while life remained — that if he
put his trust in God, he would be his friend, and not
forsake him, but in his own good time restore us ul*
k> our liberty and to our friends ; that it might prove
^ood for us that we were thus afflicted, aiicj as God
certainly knew bebt,\Ahat was for our gocd, w€
ought to pray ihai God's '.vill be doije ; thai the Al-
mighty had enabled ua thus far to surmount diftkul-
tie*, and to perform lediouji jourj eys each day of ma-
ny miles, when we cci^ceived it tun.ost impossible
for us in the morning to travel ha;f the distance.
My husband now told me that lie hiid been informed
by one of the sailors that his ma>iet' had taken a bi-
ble from him which he found in his knapsack, and
which the Arab had sliii in his possession ; which
being of no uae to him> as he could not read it, he
•thought he might be persuaded by my master to
pan with it if seasonable application was madc'-—
This was indeed pleasing news to me, as in case of
ii scperation from my poor husband 1 could find in
this sacred To'ume that consolation \vhich no hu-
man power on earth could afford jne.
The hoarse voices of our misters were no>v heard,
commanding us to sepcrate and prepare to continue
our journey* Since the camel en which I rode had
been slain, not a thought until this moment entcreij
my mind whether I should any longer be thus in*
dulgedorbe compelled like the other captives to
lyavel on foot ; if the latter was their intention I
was certain that my situation would be infinitely
worse than that of my husband ; for as the Arabs
had robbed me of my shoes and stockings, were
they to compel mc thus tio travel they would rery
roon find the neceesity cf either leaving ms behifldi
to perish with burger, or of Jlspatchir.g w\q at onco
with their scymeters ; but, my anxious doubts were
veyy soon removed by the appearance of my mas-
ter, leading a camel, Nrhich being compelled to
kneel, I was ordered to mourvt.
Wc set forward in an easterly direction, and m
consequence of the food with which we had been
supplied^ travelled with much belter spirits than we
had done for many days before — a little before sun-
set, we came to a well of tolerable good water,
where were a large company of Arabs \v Atari ig
their camels; the strangers were all armed with
muskets, and were double our number. Our masters
were ail mounted, but instantly leaped off their
camels, and unsheathing their guns, prepared for
action, should the strangers prove enemies. They
approached us hastily with a horrible shout — I cx-
pected^r.ow to see a battle ; but when they had ar-
rived within half gun-shot of us, they stepped short
and demanded who we were ? what cnunlry wo
(the slaves) were ? and where our masters had found
us? To which questions my master briefly replied)
assuring ihem that the place where wc had been
shipwrecked was but a very short distance, not more
than two drivs travel; and that they had left the
beach strewed with many articles of inestimablo
value, which they were unable to bring nv;ay with
Ihcm— this was a stratagem made use of by my
master, to prevent the strangers molesiing us ; for
33 they live by stealing, they conceive that p.cper>5r
belongs lo no one, unless he has power lo defend it.
The strangers, elated with the prospect of obtaining
their share of booty, hastily naounted their cancels
and departed for the place, where our masters as-
sured ihem they would find the wreck, and the
valuable property they had described to them.—
They were, to the very great satisfaction of out
masters, scon out of sight, and left us in peaceable
possession of the welK Here we had once more an
oppcrtunity to quench our thirst, but not however
until the camels and their masters had drank their
fill.
As the sun bad now set, a dispute commenced be-
tween the Arabs whether we should pitch our tents
here for the night, or proceed a few miles further.
It was argued by those who were against stopping
here, that the Arabs who had gone in quest of the
wreck, might alter their minds and return in the
c-ourse of the night, and possess themselves of their
prisoners. As an Arab had rather part with his life
than his property, it did not reqi.ire much argu«
TT.ent to satisfy those who were a? first of a differ-
ent opinion, that to proceed to a place of more safe-
ty, would he the wisest step. Having filled their
pkins with water, and permitting us to take a second
draught, they quit the well near an hour after sun*
•-.et, and alter ascending and desccndirg prodigious
Jiifrs of dry sand uiiiil our sirenglh had become
nearly exhausted, our masters at length found a
3nvg retreat s".jrrcu-i:Icd on al! sid&s by high sand
—35—
drifts. As it was nearly midnight, they thought it
not worth while to pitch their tents, but compelled
us to lie down in the deep sane!, and charged us not
to exchange a word with each other, or make the
least noise. Here, in our most exhausted state^
were we compelled to lie on the bare ground, with,
out the smallest shelter from the heavy dews of tho
night, and enduring beside the cravings of hunger,
excruciating pains in all our limbs. Our masters
accustomed to such hardships, did not even con^"
plain of fatigue.
As soon as day light appeared, they allowed u^
a small portion of what remained of the camel, af-
ter which we were called upoD again to pursue
our journey. The Arabs were exceeding careful in
iheir preparations to depart, not lo make the least
noise, and forbid our uttering a word, least they
should be discovered by an enemy more powerful
than themselves. By sun rise we were on our
march— they compelled my husband and his poor
fellow- captives to keep up with the camels, although
iheir feet were extremely sore and swollen — for my
own piri (next to hunger and thirst) the most that 1
had endured was from the scorching rays of the
sun beating upon my bare head ; but having now
gone so long bare-headed, my head had become ac-
custcmcd to the heat, a»id though it remained uncov-
ered, it did not pain me. Since ray capiiviiy, I had
many times begged of my master that he would re
turn me my bonnet, as the only means by which he
ecu Id CKpect to preserve my life ; but he always,
by signs, gave me to understand that it was the
property of another, who would not be prevailed up-
on to part with it.
The desert now before us had the same sandy ap,
pe^ ranee we had before observed— .all was a dreary,
solitary waste, without a tree or shrub to arrest the
view within the horizon. Wc continued on our
route, however, as well as our situation would ad-
mit, until an hour after sunset, when the Arabs
pitched their tents as usual, and we were permitted
to retire to rest, although our extreme hunger (hav-
ing eaten nothing but a morsel of camel's flesh for
the last 24 hours) deprived us of sleep In the
morning, so reduced were many of the captives, by
fatigue and hunger, that they were scarcely enabled
te stand on their feet. It was in vain that the cruel
Arabs beat them unmercifully, *o force ihem to re-
new their journey— their legs were too weak to sup-
port even their emaciated bodies. The Arabs be-
came at length satisfied that food must very soon
be obtained, or they should lose some of their pris-
oners. While they were debating on what was to
be done, the fresh tracks of camels were discovered
by some of the company, a short distance to the
west of where we were encamped. The Arab^-
seemed overjoyed at the discovery, and eight or ten
of them ruounied on the best cam^^ls, set out in pur"
suit of the travellers, to beg a supply of provisionf*'
]if frignds, and to take it by force, if enemies.
As we were likely to remain here soiHe time (at
icait till the return of those who had been dispatch-
ed in quest of provision) I solicited «iid wts so fortu-
nate as to be allowed the. privilege of another inter-
view with my poor unfortunate husband. I found
him laboring under a still greater depression of spi-
rits, than when I last had the privilege of convers-
ing with him— he said thtt every hour now seemed
to throw a deeper gloom over his fate, and that na-
ture could not possibly hold out but a short time
longer I and, indeed, that such was the state of
wrelchednesa to which he was reduced, th«t (as re-
garded himself) death was stripped of all its terrorg!
I once more remindad him of the power •f the AU
mighty to relieve us, and of the nccc ssity of relying
on his mercy — that through his divine good»ess, we
ought to be thankful that our lives had been so long
miraculously preserved — that although our afflic*
lions had been very great, and might still be even
greater, yet the Lord was able to support us» and
might in due season be pleased to effett our due de-
liverance ; as he had declared to us in Ptalms 6,
15. ^' And call upon me in the day of trouble, I will
deliver thee, and thou »halt glorify me."
My husband now informed mc, thai his suspicions
that we were to be scperated and conveyed to dif-
ferent parts of the desert, without a prospect of see-
ing each other again, had been confirmed by the
declaration of the chief cf the clan,wiih whom he bad
had much conTcrsation respecting our future dt sti-
G
oy — the chief giving him to undeT8tand« that it was
the intention of our masters to retain us as slaves
tintil an opportunity should present to dispose of ua
to some of their countrymen bound to the Moorish
dominions, where a high price would be paid for us
by the Sultan's friend (Briti«h Consul) that he had
tried to prevail upon him to purchase me, and to
convey us both lo Morocco (or Marockish as the
Arabs term i) where he assured him Tve had friend&t
■^ho would pay a haiKlsome price f»r us ; but with-
out any success— his master assuring him, that ray
jBaster couid not be prevailed upon to part with me,
for all tiio property he was worth, and that he woubl
not engage to convey him (my husband) to Morock-
ish ior the price of his life ; as he should have to
pass through many tdbes with whom they were a*
^ar — ** thus my dear wife (concluded my husband)
you see that the prospect of our speedy redemption
is very small, and I am confident that if our captivityi
continues a month longer, and we are not treated
with more lenity, not one of us will be found alive,
for every oie of my unfortunate fellow captives are
if possible, in a more deplorable situation than my.
self."
Such indeed as had been represented by my hu»«
Ikin4, was the situation of ihesc victims of misfiat^
tunc ; overwhelmed with fatigue, unable to obtaifi
repose, tormented with hunger, and consigned,
tvithout any human assistance, into the hands of
mercilesa barbarians. These ferocious monsters.
-.39—
whenever they utteiHid a murmur, appeared so en*
raged against them, that when they spoke to them»
the fire flashed from their eyes, and the white, so*
perceptible in the Moors and Arabs, could not be
distinguished — and even in their most debilitated
state, they were guarded with such vigilance, that
an Arab with a spear or a musket in his hand) at-
tended them upon every occasion ; the barbariane
being apprehensive that (hey might escape, or that
their prey might be taken froiia them by force.
The Arabs sent in pursuit of the travellers return-
ed about noon, and brought with them the bones and
entrails of a kid, a small portion of which the;/ gave
to us. It was sweet to our taste, though hut a mor-
sel, and we pounded, chewed and swallowed all the
bones. They nftw finished their last sack of water-
having taken a plentiful drink themselves, they gave
■us the relicks, which was inferior to bilge water.—
The Ar&bs having concluded to proceed no farther*
this day, they had the humanity to suffer the weak-
est of the captives to lodge at night ur^dera comer
of their tent. The ensuing morning they compelled
Bs to start as soon as it was light, and travelled ve-
ry fast until noon, when they came to a halt to let
their camels breathe, and feed on a few shrubs that
were thinly scattered among the sand drifts, Wc
were here so fortunate as to find a few snails, which
the captives were privileged to roast and eat, which
in some measure allayed the cravings of hunger-^
having thus refreshed, w-e were ordered by our mas-
ters once more to put forward, /and taking a north'
caitcrly course, travelled rapkily through prodi-
gious • -''drifts until late in the evening — my niaa-
ter by words and signs encouraging me, that if ray
strength did not fail, he should reach his village the
flay ensuing ; where I should be plentifully sup-
plied vith victuals and drink. The Arabs having
iound a convenient spot, pitched their tent, and
•gain gave us permission to occupy a corner of it ;
but being allowed nothing this night wherewith t©
allay our hunger, our fatigues and sufferings may
be more easily conceived than expressed ; yet as wo
were sheltered from the dews of the night, we slepi
very soundly until we were roused up to eonticue
our journey.
The next day about noon we had the good fortune
to discover a well of pure water— this was a happy
circan.s.ance, Cor having been deprived ^f that pre*
cjous article for the last twenty-four hoyrs, our mis-
ery from thirst had become so iniolerable, that some
of the captives had been induced to attempt to make
use of that as a substitute, which decency forbids
me to mention. For this unexpected relief, our
souls were oTerwhelm«d with joy ; nor did we fail
to raise our eyes and hearts to heaven, in adoration
and silent thankfulness, while tears of gratitude
trickled down our haggard cheeks. While our
masters were watering their camels, and filling theif
sacks, some of the captives had pern^isslon to go a
short distance in search of snails, and were §^,
^41 —
fo'tunate as to co'iicct, in less thaa half an hcu.^,
about three quarts, which, after being loasted, were
shared among the captires.
During our Ijalt at this place, I have yet another
circunvstance to record, which I then esteemed,, and
still esteem of more importance tp roe, if possible,
than even the discovery of the well of water. My
master having ordered me to dismount, that h«
might water his camel, I seated myself on a hard
sand drift, a few rods from the tvell— here 1 remain-
ed until 1 saw him returning, leading his camel-
as he approached, I perceived that he had some-
tiling in his hand, and on his near approach, what
were my emotions^ to find that it was the sacred
volume, that my hiisband informed me was in pO€-
session of one of the Arabs, who had taken it from
the pack of a fellow captive— .-ihc Arab, it appeared*
having conceived it of little value (being opposed to
the Chrislian faiih) and unwilling to be burihcned
with it any longer, threw it upon the sand, with an
intention of ther« leaving it My husband being
made acquainted with Itis. determination, after mucfe
persuasion, prevailed upon my master to pick it up,
and convey it to me ; this he would by no nican€
have di.ne (being a strict Mahometan) had not my
husband satisfied him by repeated assurances, that
with this precicu? volume in my possession, I
should be enabled to endure the hardships to which
we were then subject, with more fortitude than |
had done. My feelings on receiving so rich a pre=
—as-
sent fi-om the hands of one, whose very nature was
at enmity with our Christian religion, mny perhaps
be conceived bat 1 cannot attempt to dascribe them
-*-to form a correct ulea of my emotions at that
time, let him, and him alone, who has full fehh iti
the religion of Christ, and at vhose hands he has
found mercy, and is not ashamed to confess him
before the world, transport himself in iniagiDation
to the country where I then was ; a distant heathen
clime, a land of darkness, where the enemy of souls
reigns triumphant, and where by an idolatrous race
the doctrines of a blessed Redeemer are ireaie<l
with derisioo and contempt ; and none but such
wretches for his companions — thus situated, after
having been more than two months deprived of that
blessed book, which is so peculiarly calculated to
afford him comfort and consolation in the trying
hour of afiliction and woe, let him imagine himself
presented with the sacred volume, and by one who^
had been taught to despise its precious contents 1
Although my master, in presenting me with i\\ti
ftook, which to me was of inestimable value, con-
sulted only his own interest, yet I could not but feel
grateful to hira for a treasure of more value, than
any thing with whith he could then have presented
me. As soon as it was in my possession, I turned
to Jer. 31. 16, and read the following passage, which
afforded me great consolation : « Thus saiih the
Lord^ refrain thy voice from weepting, and thine ef^
from tears, for thy work shall be rewarded, and
they shali come again from the land of the evemy/'
But a very few moments were allowed me at
this time to examine the contents of my new ac-
quired treasure, aa the Arabs having completed
their watenng, in less than an hour, were prepared
to pursue their journey ; nor did J then suspect that
our next place of encampment would be that at
which I should not only be seperated from my dear
husband, as well as from every one of my other fcl'«
low captives, but the place where I should be doom-
ed to pass many months in captivity I — my master
liad indeed intimated to me the day previous, that
we should ^n this day arrive at our place of destina*
tion, but, as he had proved himseif a liar in a similar
promise, which he had made many days before, I
placed but liule reliance en his word in the prescftX
instance — but such, however, proved to be the
■fact.
We travelled in an easterly direction over a sac-
dy, although an extremely uneven country ftr abo<»t
six hours, at the rate I should judge of about four
miles an hour ; about sunset the Arabs commandit>flj
the captives to halt, as they did themselves, they
set up a most tiemendeus halloo, in which they were
imnaediatcly answered by some one who appeared
to be but a short distance from us. They now push*
ed hastily on, and in a few moments, were met by
six or eight Arabs, a part of whom were women, o^
Iboi, each being armed with a spear ten or twelre
feet in length— tbete I soon fouml vvet^ii trj},- i-nus'
ter's fiicnds, and a part cf them of his ©v/n family.
They welcomed the return of thtir friends by rub-
bing their limbs with dry sard> and then throwing
handfrills of it in the air, aftfr whicii they saluted
ihe captives by spitting on us, pelting us with stones
and throwing sand in onr faces, acccmpanied with
the vTord *^ fonta" (bad) — the femulss weie not less
backward to insult me than ll^o menj and 1 think
that 1 should have met with vety btiious injury, had
I not been protected by luy master, at whose com-
mand ihcy desisted, and appeared disposed Xo treat
me "Aith less seveiity. One of them haviig snatch-
ed my bible from under my aim, was compelled by
Riy master to return it. We were now conducted
to their Yilhge, ii 1 may be permitted so to term it,
\rhjch was composed of only a few tents of a similar
censtruction to iho&e which the Arabs carry with
them in their excursions. The village was situated
in a valley which had no more the appearance of
fertility than the barren desert which we had passed,
except a few shiubs and thorn bushes on which the
camels were feeding. When we arrived, the Arabs
who remained dt the tents were cDga^ed in their
evening devotions — s<wne wcie kneeling down and
i>owing their faces to the ground, and others stand-
ing and nibbing the naked parts of their bodies with
diy sand, in the mean time conSilantly repeating the
ivoids « Allah Hookibar."
^45-
Having finished their devotions, and the captives
being secured in on old tent allotted them, the female
camels were driven up by the women and milkid;
A bowl containing about six quarts of the milk,
mixed with two or three quarcs of barley flour, was
presented to the captives to eat. This was the first
time that I had ever tasted of camel's milk, and in
my hungry state was I think the most delicious food
lever tasted. My ptor fellow captives, reduced by
hunster to skeletons, seated themselves around the
bov^l, and having nothing but their hands to eat
with, they devoured its previous contents in less
three minutes. After this about three quarts of
roasted snails, and about the same quantity of brack-
ish water were preiented u«, which were as quickly
devoured — indeed, to such a state of starvation were
we reduced, that I believe half a roasted camel
'.vould noi have been sufficient for us. While w^
were partaking of this repast, our masters (whoso
appetites were probably nearly as sharp as ours)
were busily employed in cooking a kid, the entrails
of \Thich we were in hopes we bhould obtain, but iii
this we were disappointed.
I now had another opportuoity (and the last in A-
^abia) to converse with my husband, who was ye;
decided in his opinion that our seperation was soon
to take place, and that without the kind interposi-
tion of Heaven in his behalf, that seperation he was
fearful would prove a final one. 13y hearing the
Arabic 80 much spoken, he understood enough end
H
—46—
heard enaugh to satisfy him that the village in which
we then were, was the place of my master*s abode
only,ofour company— that I bhould be retained here
in captivity, and the remainder of them conveyed,
probably, to more remote parts of the de«ert. He
labored under the sume impression, that if his suf»
ferings continued without alleviation, death must
soon terminate thtm. Here he begged of me, that
if I should be more fortunate, and Heaven should
thereafter be pleased to eff#ct my deliverance, thai
I would do all in my power to ascertain what had
been his fate, and if still alive and in captivity, that
1 would interest the BritisU Consul at Mogadore in
Ms favor to effect his deliverance.
It may excite the surprize of the reader that
while my husband and his wretched companions
were in such a state of despondency, I should sup-
port my sufferings with so great a share of forti-
tude. It may be easily accounted for, as there was a
very material difference in our treatment — for whil6
the other captives had been compelled to travel tiic
whole journey, without shoes or stockings on foot
through burning sands, and if they slackened their
pace, were beat unmeicifully by their masters, I
was conveyed on the back of a camel the whole
distance^ withovu being compelled to walk five
rods ; and when i had occasion to mount or dis"
mount, the camel wan compelled to kn^el for mc ^
c.nd although I endarcd much fatigue at first from
ihdr mode of riding yet when I became more used
^4r-
to the Arabian saddle, 1 suffered but very little in-
convenieRce on that account ; indeed 1 set af. easy
as in an arm chair. 1 was also most generally in-
dulged each night with the privilege of occupying a
corner of their tent, while my unfortunate fellow
captives were compelled, with one or two excep-
tions, to sleep in the sands, with no other covering
butihe canopy of heaven. Hence, while these poor
unfortunate people were by ill treatment as well as
hunger reduced to mere skeletons — their whole
bodies burned quite black by the powerful rays of
the sun, and fiiled with innumerable sores : their
feet blistered by the hot §ands, or severely gashed
by sharp stones ; and tbeir heads, for the want of an
epportunitv to cleanse them, overrun with vermiR,
I, blessed be God, suffered but hltlc, but from hun-
ger 'diid thirst.
It was a pleasing thing to mc to see these un-
fortunate captives, almost without an cxcepti»nj al-
though but a few months before conducting as if
birangers to t'nc gospel of Jesus, on their bended
>;ncfcs, imploring the mercy and protection of an of-
fended God, O that they may continue to be ever
grateful to him for past favors, and learn to trust in
Him for the time to come — surely then above most
others ihey have reason to say *' it is good for us
that we have been inPicied." By their request 1
read many passages in my bible which seemed most
appropriate to our situation, and which appeared to
afford them great consolation'— among which were
— 4i~.
t!i^ following : — " Wait on the Lord, be of good coo-
rage, aid he shall strengthen thine heart, wait I say
on the liord. Psalms 20. *M shall not die but live»
and declare the works of the Lord : The Lord hath
chastized me sere, yet he hath not given me over to
death." Psalms liS. 17, 18. "Cast, thy burthen
upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee." Psalms
55. 22. « I know O Lord that thy judgments are
right, and that thou in faithfulness hath afflicted mc.**
Psalms 119,75.
As it was now quite dark we retired to rest upoD
a few old mats thai the Arabs had thfown into •ur
tent for us to repose on, but the apprehension of
being sepcrated the ensuing morning deprived us
of sleep ; indeed U\e whole night was spent in a state
of anxiety not easy to conceive of. While we re*
mained in this situation until day light, oar masters
were the whole night engaged in debate, there ap-
pearing, by what little we could undersiandt still
some difficulty in deciding to whom each one of us
belonged ; the dispute however at length subsiding,
and the time of milking the camels having arriv-
ed, our masters presented us with a pint of milk
each, wann from the bea»t, which refreshed us ve-
ry much^ Our tent was oow visited by the wives
and children of the Arabs, >vho having iatisfied their
cufiosiiy by gaziig at ua for half an hour, to express
their disgUBt, the children were encouraged by their
mothers to spit and throw sand in om* faces—as
-►49—
:.oon hewever as this was discovered by our masters,
ihey were ordered off.
The Arabs now commenced their morning de*
votions, by bowing themselves to the ground> rub-
bing tlieir faces, arms, legs, &c. with dry sand, as in
ihc evening before, after which another kid was
butchered and cooked, of which they gave us the en-
trails. Having finished their repast, they btgan to
saddle and load their camels, and in a few moments
after, my unfortunate fellow captives were com-
manded to come forth to pursue their journey — I too
(as if ignorant of the intentions of my master) obey-
ed the summons ; but no sooner had I stepped
without the tent, than the barbarian forced me back
with ihe britch tf his musket I
The fears that 1 had entertained of being seperat-
od from my poor unfortunate husband, and his
■wretched fellow-captives, were now realized — it
would be impossible for me to describe my feelings
at this moment, and the reader can have but a fain'*,
conception of them 1 1 begged that I might be in-
dulged with the iiber-ty of exchanging a few words
with my husband, previous to his departure : but
•ven this privilege was denied m« ; in a fit of des-
pair I threw myself upon a mat, where I remained
in a state of insensibility until the captives were ftir
out of sight. As soon a;» I had recovered sufficient-
ly to support myself on my knees, I sent up a prayer
to Heaven, implor'iDg her protection in my then still
more wretched situtitien. I then laid myseil down to
^50—
liest, hm could not sleep. My mind, which hau
been hitherto remarkably strong, and supported me
through ail my trials, disiresses and f rffcrincis, and
in a great measure had enabled me o encourage
and keep up the spirits of ray frequently despairing
feilo^v^ captives, could hardly sustain me : My sud*
den change of situation seemed to have relaxed the
■^«?ery springs of my souU and all my faculties fell in-
t^ the wildest confusion.
Soon after the departure of the other captives, I
was again visited by a motley group of the natives,
who came merely to satisfy their curiosity, when the
children were again encouraged by their parents to
insult me by spitting and throwing sand in my face— .
this was more than I could bear ; tears of anguish,
which I had not the power to controul, now gushed
from my eyes ; and my almost bursting heart vent-
ed itself in bitter groans of despair I It soon appear-
ed, however, that the abuse offered me by these un-
Reeling wretches, was not countenanced by my mas.
^r ; for on his arrival, viewing the sad coidilion
Vnat I was in, with my eyes and mouih filled whh
sand, he became greatly enraged and beat the vile
authors of it unmercifully — and, indeed, the severe
ehastisement which they then received, had a lasting
and very happy effect ; for from this time, until the
period of my redemption, I was not once again in-
sulted in this way*
My master having retired, soon returned with a
Itowl of camcl^s milk, and another of the 6our siiti*'
—51 —
lar to that with which I had been before presCDted ^
and of which 1 made a very delicious meal, and
returned thanks to God for the wholesome repast.
in two hours after I was again visited by my master,
accompaiued by a very aged, and the most respect-
able looking Arab that i had seen ; who, having
seated himself on a mat, accosted me with " how de
do Chiistiano." I was indeed very much surprised
to hear a language that I could understand, and was
much pleased with the prospect of having found one
who, as an interpreter, might be of essential service
to me. The old man could speak but very broken
English, but with the assistance of my partial know-
ledge of the Arabic (which I had obtained duiing
my captivity) we could convi^rie with each other
tolerable wtL^ lie informed me that he belonged
<o a village much larger than the one in which my
fntxavri' ««^ Hivj cr,c::;.:ped, and many miles nearei*
MoiGCcasii — that he had tibia ned his partial know-
\jd^t of die Erglish lauijua^e by having once in his
T^oss'w'Sbion thrtc cr four Engilab captives, who with
a number of their cjai tiymen, had bfcii shipwreck-
Ld on the coast. That they were vvith hrrn «ib&ut
two years, when, with the exception of one that died,
ihey were redeemed by the Suhan's friend at Mo-
loccash.
The old man was very inquisitive and arisious to
learn of what vhe ship s cargo was composed, and
whether there was much cash on board; how many
days we had bocn travelling siuco we quit the wreck;
and on what part the coast we were \rrecked~ hew
•fiany persons there were on board, and if the whole
•f our number were captured. To these questions
5 gave corrcLct answers, which were interpreted to
my master.
I embraced this opportunity to ascertain, if possi*
lie, what would probably be the fate of my husband
and his unfortunat® companions ; and whether there
Was any prospect of their gaining their liberty again
— and what were my master's intentions with regard
to myselt Agreeable to my request these e: qui-
fies were made, and my master's replies interpreted
to me by ihe eld man ; which 3pp»izcd me, that
the prospect of my companions being soon redeem-
f d was very great, as their masters resided much
nearer the Sulian's.dom.iiuonSj when ^information of
their captivity might be easily conveyed ; and as
soon as the SuUan received the intbrmatir^. h^
would im-mediately communicate it to his friend
(the Bntish Consul) at Swear.'h (^'ogado^e) who
would dispatch a person with cash, to redeem them*
That as regarded myself, it was ihe intertion of my
mastei' to retain me in iiis own family, uniii he could
find an opportunity to dispose of jne at a gcf d piice,
to some one sf his countrymen bound to Swearah.
I suggested to the old man the improbability of my
living long if not more tenderly treated, and more
bountifully supplied with wholesome foe^/d ; which^
l&eing interpreted to my master. I was assured, that
ill behaved myself well, 1 should have my liberty to
walk about the villaje wh-ere I pleased, and shouV
always have my share of food.
As 1 had slways been under serious apprehen-
sion (if being deprived of my bible (which was now
riy only remaining companion) or that I sliould be
compelled to engage with them in their idolatrous
worship of ike Supreme Being, I hinted to my in-
terpreter, that although we believed in one and the
same Grand Spiiit, yet there was a difference in our
mode of worshipping Him : ar.d that v/hile they
peaceably pursued their'Sj ! hoped that I siiould no^
be disturbed while engai^ed in mii^e ; and, what w»s
c still greater confsideraiicn with me, I hoped tJiat
rore might be permitted lo take from me my biblei
but that 1 might be allowed to devote a few hours
each day in perusing it. To this my master assent-
ed^ on condition that I would never worship or pe-
rirs^ ih© hor»k i}} hi* prtftnce, or that of any of his
faniily ; f:)r as they believed Christians, fcnta (bad)
he could not answer for the conduct tif his family if
tliey f 'Ui.d me thus engaged.
My master having i'lformcd me that tlie tent io
v»hich i was then coi.fiiicd, was allotted me as my
place of tesidencc until he should have an opportu-
nity to dispose of m.e, new granted me liberty to
i\'alk about the village where I pleased, hinting at
the same time, that an attempt on my part to escape
from him, would be punished *vith instant dejkth I aH
ihis was interpreted to me by the old Arab, whoi,
lTa\ ing promised rac that if he should meet wuh an:
—5 4—
Qpporiuniiv to send to Swearah, he would in form
the Sultan of my situation, with my master withdrew,
and left me to return thanks to Him, by whose kind
interposilion I was so fortunate as to meet with onej
in that barren and inhospitable desert, who was not
only enabled to acquaint me cf what would probably
be the uhimate fate of my poor husband, hut what
were the views of myxnaster with regard to myself*
Being now left entirely alfiie, 1 embraced the op*
portunitj to peruse more attentively the aacsed vol-
ume, which alone was calculated to yield consola-
tion to a miserable captive like mysdf 5 a volume
calculated not only to make me wise unto salvation,
but calculated also to convey the most affecting
views, and awaken the swbiinr)cst sensibilities on a
thousand topics; & vo'umc full of cntejlaiiimefa as
well as ins'.ructionj composed by a grea-t diversity of
aUthcCS, and a}} ni th^m divniirjy (cUjjni. rTatiiiinilS
1 see them one after another (in this momnt as in
that of my tribulation) preseiuing for nr.y improve-
menc, their respective writings wih an aspect of
Jigaiiy and sweetness, combining, the dignity of,
iiuth, and the sweetness cf beiievcknc* ; both de-
rived from Him who inspired ihem lo be the teach-
ers of mankind. Methinks 1 hear them severally
addressing me in the name of God, with an authori-
ty that can only be equalled with their miWness, on
subjects the grandest and most important . What
book is there but the bible, that contains so much to
«nform, impresft* and delight reflecting minds, laid
logether in a njanner so extensively atfepted to their
various turns of understanding, tasie arid temper ^
which people of diffeient and distant countries,
through a long succession of ages, have held in so
much reverence, and read with so much advantage j
where it is so difficult to determine, which arc more
distinguished ease and simplicity, or sublimity «nd
force, but where all are so beautifully united ; where
there is so litllc to dis-^ourage the weakest spirit?
if docile, and so much to gratify the strongest, if
candid— where the frailties, disorders and distresses
of human nature, are all so feelingly laid open and
:he remedies, which Heaven provided had so ten-
derly applied.
And ought I to omit to declare that although
misfortune hsd placed me in the hands of a barba-
rous people, although scperaied from gvery chris-
tian friend, and experiencing: all the hardships and
privations peculiar to those who are so unfortunate
as to lall into the hands of a merciless race ; yet,
from this sacred vclume, I derived more comfort
more sweet consolanon, secluded as ! was from thiB
civilized world, than the most fashionable amuse*
menis of the most populous cities in Europe, cuu'd
have afforded mc ! Ah, ye fair ones of Britain, who
doat on the parade of public assemblies, and sail a-
long in the fnll blown pride of fashionable attire, of
which the least appendage or circumstance must
not be discomposed ; thoughtless of human woe :
nscnsible to the ead condiiio.-i tf those like myself
piiiing in many a solitary resideoce ofv^'ant—ye gau*"
dy fiwUerers, '* wiib hard hearts under soft i^ai-
nient," how much more briliiiuit and beauiiful
would ye appear in the eyes of sairts and ar.gelS)
Vftrc yow to employ your leisure hoins thus devoted ^
to the attaining a knowledge of that sacred scripture
by which alone ye can expcci lo enjoy eterial life*
J blu&h for man) of my country women possessed of
understanding who h.ive never yet learned its no-
blest and happiest use j in whose ears the circulated
whisper of a well dressed crowd admiring their ap-
pearance, is -d moie grateful sound than the praise of
the ever living Jehovah! How much more praise
worthy wouid it bc,\ve!e it your object only to ap-
pear beautifal in the eye of God ; to be beloved by
the Monarch of the Universe ! to be r.dmiited, if I
may use the phrase, as so many fair and shining
pillars into her temple belcw ; while he contcm-
platei each wi'.n a pleasing aspect, and purposes to;
remove them in due time to his sanctuary on higb^
v?here they ihall remain his everlasting delight, as
A?ell as the never ceasing aduiiration of surrounding
oherubims. Great Creator I what can equal such
axailation and felicity ? And can any of you, my
fair readers, be so destitute ©f every nGbler senvi-
Oient as not to aspire after privileges like ihese ! Vd-
aaoved by such ideas, can you turn away with impa-
tience, and run to scenes of dress and show with
the same Utile inglorious passions as before ; pre-
ferrirg to the approbation of the Eternal ihe slight
est regards iTrom the silliest mortrls r G^. thou
senseless creature, and boast of jjcing admi.ed by
the butterflies of a day ; see what they will do tor
thee, when He, whose favor ihou negieclest, and for
such thii.gs shall cause thy " beauty Co consume like
a moth," and thy heart to sink within thee like a
stone. Imigination sh»idders at the thought of that
day, when thou shalt ei>ter, trenabling-, forsaken and
forlorn, those dismal regions wiiich the voice of adu-
lation cannot reach, and nothing shall be heard but
sounds of reproach and bi-H' phemy and wo ; where,
stript of every ornament that now decks thy body,
and suipt of lh?l body itself, thy mind must appear
without shelter or covering, all deformed and
ghastly, mangled with tht wounds of despairing
guilt, an<i distorted by tin- violence of envenomed
passions, while demons sh^il mock at thy misery.
May the Almighty Redeemer b« pleased to save
us all from a doom so dreadfiil I And my fair read*
ers would you concur to prevent it ? Begin with
restraining the ]o\e of ornament ; or ravh^r, turn
that dangerous affection into a higher channel) and
let it flow : it will then become safe, useful, noble.
Here yoii will have scope for the largest fancy. To
the -odorning of your minds Vi^e wish you to set no
bouads. In dressing the soul for the company oi
saintsi of angels, of God himself, you cannot em-
ploy loo much time or thought. In a word, all the
best things in the creation, together with the Creator
K ^
bimself, concur in loving and honoring a beauteous
mind.
But, to return —
The liberty granted me by my master, to peruse
the sacred scriirurcs, I faithfully improved at this
tinie. I perused the whole book of Job, and derived
much consolation therefrom, after which, to prevent
its destruction by the natives, I buried ray inestima-
ble treasure in the sand, and, unaccompanied by any
one, I was now permitted to walk about the village,
as ifi vras tetmed, which was composed of no more
than ten or twelve wretched tents, containing from
&ix to ten persons each. As a moie minute desciip-
Uon of the inbabiiants — their employment, dicss,
habits, customs, &c. may be gratifying Vo some of my
readers, 1 will here record them as correctly as my
recollection will enable me, from observations made
during my captivity.
The Arabs are of a tawny complexion; and when
full grown, are -generally from five to six feet in
height, with black sparkling eyes, high cheek bones
snd thin lips— their Jiair is bisck* long and very
coarse, and being occasionally clipped by the men,
fney leave it slicking cut in every dirfction, fiora
-.heir head, uhicb i;ives them a veiy savage appear-
ance— their beards they peimit to grow to the
length of seven or eight inches. The oidy clothing
ihey v.car is a piece of coars-.e cloth ef their own
:r>anufaclure, wliich they tie round their vaslco, and
'Ahich « xtends to their knees- The wcmen are in
fpeneral uol so tall as the men, but in other respects
resemble them ttry much. They appear in their
natures as if created expressly for the country which
they inhabit, as no human beings can endure thirst*
bujiger, and faiigues better than they. When they
rise in the morning, their first employment is to
milk, their canjels, aiier which the whole village,
youn.^ and old. (the women excepted) assemble to
attend prayers and their other religious devotions*
which they perform in the following manner ; they
fiist strip themselves nearly naked, and then wiih
dry sand rub every pai t of their bodies, after which,
btTiding their bodies almost to the ground, they cry
aloud ♦' Allah Hookiber"— « Aliah-Sheda Mabam-
med 1"— at nii^ht before retiring to rest they again
•sscmble to worsliip in the same manner.
The cloth with which the Arabs cover their lenls<
they manufacuire ©ut of camel's hair, which work is
perfo: med by the women, in the following manner :
having first spun the hair into thread, by means mt
a haiul spindle, and- it havinggone through the •pe*
ration of doubling and twisting, they drive into the
ground two rows of pegs placing them about three
feet apart ; the warp is tbert attached to the pegs
and the filling is then carried by a shuttle over one
thread of liie warp and under another, the women,
in the mean time beating up the threads with a flat
pitce Oi siick. Every tent is occupied by a §©pe«
' le faniily, who have no other furniture but a mat,
.l.ich serves ihcm for a bed, a small brasa kettle
in wtricli they sometimes boil their provision, a tal-
labash to hold thtir milk, and a wooden trough iti
which they wat€T their camels.
If the Arabs are provided v^ith water, they never
fail to wash before they eat, but in the choice of ihcit
food, they are less particular*, esteeming a mess of
roasted snails preferable to any other dish. Thcif
principal food, when encamped, is camel's milk, and
occasionally they feast themselves on a kid, but never
on a camel, unless in ease of real necessity, or when
they have becQme too old to travel. Frcquentlyi
however, in travelling the desert, the Arabs have
been driven by hunger to such cxtrcnniiics, as to de-
voiiT animals and insects of any kind in a state of pu-
trefaction.
The Arabs have a plurality of wives to whom the^
are very scTere and cruel, exercising as much au-
thority overthtoi as over their shivcs, ard compel-
ling them to perform the meanest drudgeiy — their
husbands consider them as their infcjiors, as b'-ings
without souls, and will not permit ihtni to join in
their devotions. W hile engaged in weaving they carrjr
HheiT ififant children on thc:»' hacks, which are se-
tured by a fold of a piece rf CiOih, which they wear
fcr the purpose over iheir shoij'ders ; by beting k#pt
constantly at work, the) become very filthy in their
^rson.s and are covered with vernfjin.
The children of the Arabs tre tauj;ht to read and
write, and every f*aiily has a teacher /or that pur-
j^oftC) bui ibr paper they substitute a pieee of smooth
—61—
board aboui two feet square, and on these they are
taught to make Arabic characiers with shai ;<ened
reeds — they are easily instructed to read the Kvian,
agiceable to their Mahometan faith, and are taught
to wiiie verses therefrom. O, what a pity it is that
they are not taught the superior excellence of the
Christian religion, and to worship the blessed Je-
3US, instead of the impure and idolatrous worship of
objects prescribed by Mahomet — weep, O my soul,
over the foriorne state of the benighted heathen !
Oh! that all who peruse this narrative would joia
in their fervent rcquesis to God, with whom all
things are possible, that these deluded people maf
3oon be brought to worship the true and only JesuSi
and X9 drink freely of the waters of salvation I
Although my master had promised me that ¥
should receive a plentiful supply of food, 1 soon
founpthat he was by no means in a situation to ful-
fil hi» promise ; for with the exception of the small
quantity of milk that the cam^els yielded, I found
that they had nothing themselves to subsist on. for
the most part of the lime but ground nuts and a few
snails, which they found in the sand. Each family
possess two or three kids, but they will sooner starve "
than kill them, unless it is on particular occasions— i
There were two wells of tolerable good water in the
neighborhood, which was the only convenience that
the misc^rable village could boast of.
While s<-me of the wives and children of the
Arabs viewed me with sconikful eyes, frequently ut-
nrifif;. the word « fonta** bad, others appeared raone
amicably disposed, and treated me with compassion.
Thry all however appeared to be anxious ihat I
should be taught to labor like themselves, and for
t%e first week attempted to instruct me how to
weave after their manner — but as 1 was sure that
if they taught me to be useful to them in this way,
I should be allowed but little time to rest or to
peruse my bible, I did net prove so tractable as
they expected to find me, and they finally gave up
^1 hopes of rendering me serviceable to tbem in this
"Way. I was however compelled every night aiid
SRorning to drive off the camelS) to milk, a^.d to
devote two or three hours each day in coUecling
snails and groind nuts.
After performing the duty allotted me, I usually
retired to my tent, and spent the remainder ot the
4ay in serious meditation, and in perusing the sacred
scriptures. During my captivity 1 read my bible,
the Old and New Tcbtament. five limes through
^rom the begiiining to the end. O it is impossible
f«r me to bestow too much praise on this sacred
book — the consolation that 1 derived therefrom in
the hour of tribulation was very great indeed ; it
was that and that alone that now enables me to say,
* b ^ sed be the hour ihat I became a convert in thfe
land of the heathen 1'* O, how piecioas, how ex»
aeedingly valuable is the word of God ! how exceed-
ingly precious, is tiie religion i-f Jesus — how unlike
ftjat of Mahomet) how different from any whicl^
—63—
Vhe carnal heart can invGnt!— O, it Waa this ihat sus^
tained me in the hour of affliction, in the day of my
captivity.
Five moiiths having nearly passed since my sep»
eration from my poor husband and his unfortunate
companions, and at the moment of despairing of be-
ing ever redeemed from cruel bondage, I was one
morning verv early aroused from my slumbers by ih^
hoarse voice of my master, commanding me to
come forth ; the summons 1 instantly obeyed ; but
my surprize mar be belter imagined than express^
ed, when on reaching the door of my tent I was pre.
seated by my master with a letter directed to me
and which I immediately recognized to be the hancl
writing of my hushand I With my mafctcr was a
stranger mounted on a mule, and although of a taw-
ny complexion, had r.st otherwise the savage ap-
jiearance of an Arab. As soon as I came wiihin
view of him, with a smile upon his countenance, he
accosted me with »* how-de-tlo Chrisiiano, " that hd
•■^as the messenger of pleading news, I did not
doubt. I broke open the letter, and with emotions
i-rat I oannot describe, read as follows j—
Mogadore, Dec, 10, 1813.
My dear Charlotte—
This will inform you that 1 am no IcBger a slav^
—by the blessings of God, I once more enjoj my
liberty — I was braught to this place with three of
t»iy crew by the Arabs, a few days since, and hu^
txwireJy redeemed ooi «f their hands by our «xceV^
lent consul (Mr. Willshire) who resides here, f
have informed kim of your situation, and he has
kindly offered me his assistance in effecting your
redemption and restoring you to liberty — the bear-
er ct this letter (should he be so fortunate as to find
you) is a man in whom you may place the utmost
reliance, and who will conduct you in safety to this
j»lace, should your master be pleased to comply with
the proposals of Mr. Willshire, to whom he has di-
rected a letter written in Arabic, offering seven hun-
dred dollars for your redemption, provided he con-
veys you in safety to this place.
I am affectionately yours, &c.
J/VMES BRADLEY.
Having finished this letter, so great was my joy,
that I could not refrain from shedding tears, and
it was some time before 1 could become sufficiently
composed as to beg of my master permission to re-
tire to my tent, wher6, on my bended knees, 1 might
return thanks to an all- wise and beneficent Creator,
through whose goodness there was now a prospect
of my being once more reatored to my husbaud and
friends.
The terms offered my master being such a.s he
Was pleased to accept of, the necessary preparations
were immediately made for our departure, and the
morning ensuing^ my master and myself being
mounted on a camel each, accompanied by the
Moor (for such he proved to be) mounted on his
!liule) set out for Mogadore, a distance of more thstn
fieven hundred miles. We were nearly twenty days
in performing the journey, the greatest part of the
way being; a sandy desert, yielding little for man or
beast.
Were I to record the occurrences of each day
while on our journey, it would swell a Tolume to
too great an extent. I would rather con6ne myselj
t© a few particulars which I esteem of the most im-
portance to the reader, and which is calculated to
jive him a correct idea of m? situation, until tho
flay of my redemption — and that of the country
through which we passed, My master loaded the
camels with as much proviiion as they oould tf^ell
carry, which, with the little they were enabled to
collect on the way, served us until we reached a
more fertile country. My master seemed disposed
to treat me with more humanity than ever, and of
whatever provision was obtained, if there was scarce-
ly sufficient for a moderate meal for one, I was
sure to receive one half j nor was time refused me
each morning btfore we set teuton our journey, to
return thanks to Heaven for the protection afforded
me through the night, and to read a chapter ifi my
bible.
After travelling ten days, we came to the country
inhabited by the Moors, and passed several walled
villages, enclosing some well stocked gardens. The
further wfi proceeded on our journey, the more the
fertility of the country seemed to increase. Wc
ptssed large fields oi Indian coro and barley^ and
^66—
garxJens filled with most kinds of vegetables, and tiie
surrounding country presented beautjful grcves oC
date fig, pomegranate and orange trees. The A-
rtbs and Moors not being on the most friendly tcrms)
and the latter being as great enemies to Christianity
as the former, we might have starved amidst plenty.,
had we not fortunately a Motr for a companion,
vjthout whose aid we could not have gained admit-
tance into any ef their villages.
In fifteen days from that on whicli we left the vil*
fcge of my master, we entered the dominions of the
Emperor of Morocco^ and two day»- after arrived at
Santa Cruz, the most considerable frontier town of
Ihe Emperor's dominions. We were met at the en*
trance of the town by a large body of Moors of al4
ranks and ages, and while some of the most respec*
table appeared disposed to protect me, fiom another
4llass 1 received every insult that they eould devise
ineans to bestow upon me. My master, on attempt-
ing to defend me from the outragje of these merciless
vretches, received but little belter treatment hinr-
S«lf, as the Moor* harbor the most contemptible opi*
»ion of the Arabs of the interlori My master,
lifowever gained permission of the Governor, to tar*
ry in the town until the ensnirg morning and
promised us his protection. I was conveyed to a
small dirty hut, situated at the extreme part of the
^wn, and therein barricadoed as securely as if I
had been ©ne of their greatest and most formidable
enemies in existence, f ought m>% however fail tc
— S7—
aeation, that I T7as here for the first time siDCre I
became a captive, pleniiiully suppiitti with ^cod an^
"Wholesome provision in abunoiance The town a-
Njunded wiih fish of a most excellent quality, which
they understood the ciH)king of equal to Europeans,
and of which mey allowed me more than 1 could pos.
sibly eat ; with an equal paoportion of sweet bailey
bread. Although 1 felt grateful for such liberantyj
yet 1 could not but view its authors as nothing more
lh:.< i.»b;i uments in the hands of the Supreme Being
«nv)loyedto alleviate the sufferings of one of his most
^itioruaate creatures, vvho dt»y and nigiit had un-
cc. siogly solicited his protection. O, 1 have infi-
Dite reason to confess my obligation to that Almigh-
;y rower who so wonderfully presei^ed «nd sup»
poi.ed me in the day of bondage. — ^.!ay my future
iifc cviijce my gratitude, and every thought be
brought into subjection to the Father of spirus*—
surely *♦ a sots I redeemed demands a life of praise."
Early the ensuing morning we quit Santa Cruz,
and proceeded on our journey, travelling through^
beautiful cultivated country. The sea on »iur Icf^
•uvcrcd with boats of various sixes, was full in vicw«
Aljout 3 o'clock the day ioliowing, havn^g leacL^
Ihe summit of a mountain which we had been since
inuTning ascending, the Msvr suddenly cried out^
pointing to ll^ east. *' see, see Mogadore i"— the
l^wn was indeed iair in view, and did nol appeac
to be more than iirtecD or ei^^lneen mile* d^ufil
The harbor was foon in view, and Ihe flags of
ships of different nations fioa'ioE^ iVom their niizen
tops v^iJis vi wed by me with i' ;!;f ujultd pleasure—
il is in>pvjssible tj Siate nriy iVeiiLi^s at this moment
on the reflection that in a few houis I should in all
probahJiity be enabled to meet my hubband^ and en-
joying I hat liberty of which we had been many
monihf* deprivfcd. 1 could not fail to look up to
heavtn vvih adoration, while my heart swelled wilh
indiscribable sensations of graiiiude and love, to the
alUwise, all powerful, and ever merciful God of the
Qnivcrse, ivlio had conducted me thiough so many
dreadful ecenes of danger and su fie ring I had^con-
troUed the passions and disposed tlie hearts of the
barbarous Arabs in my favor, and was iiualiy about
to restore me to the at ihs of ray husband
As we approached the citjr we were met by con-
aidt^rabie bodies •f the Moors, whom curiosuy had
brought from the ciiy to ?iew a Chrisiian female
slave— mary appeared disposed to offer me insult?
Iiut were prevented by those who apparently p«sses-
aed a greater share of pity for one Vvho was really
a ftpecta^le of distress. At half past three o'clock
we entered the city, and was conducted by a com-
pany of soldiers immediately to the house of the
JBiiiish Ccnsul Mr. Wiilshire met us at the door,
andhad this truly benevolent and humane man be^^n
my own brother, be Cf;uld not have given mc a more
welcome reception — he actually shed tears of joy at
the prospect pf having it soon in his power to res-
tore me to the arms of my husband, who he inform-
e<l me had been impatiently awaiting my arrival,
and had been daily at his house to ascertain if any
information had been received of me since the de-
pariare of the Moor dispatched is quest of me.
The news of my arrival soon i cached the ears
of my husband, who with the remainder of the cap-
tives who fead been redeemed and had not left the
country, hastened to the Consul's house to see me.
Happr meetiig ! It was acme time before my hus-
band or myself could exchange a syllabi- with each
other— the joy which we both felt in being enabled
to meet again and under circumstances so different
from those under which we parted, deprived us for
some time of the power of speech ; indeed if there
was ever a moment in which it became an unfortu^
natc people like ourselves to offer up prayers of
thanklulness to an adorable Creator, for his mercy
and goodness in so long protecting us during our
»any months captivity, and for firially efTecting our
redemption out of the hands of the unmerciful Arabs,
tbis was the moment- It is certainly the Almighty
who is the bestower and giver of all our good
things— all our mercies come to us by a divine
providence nnd ordering ; not by casualty or acci«
ilent — neither arc they of our own procuring and
purchasing—it is God who returns the capiivity of
Zion. '* When the Lord turned again the captivi-
ty of Zion, Wf were like them that dream : then was
^r mouth fiilcd with laughter, and our toni'ue witH
M
singing.'^Then said they among the heathen, tljre
Lord has done great things for them. The Lord
hath done great things for us ; whereof we are glad '.
Turn again our captivity, O Lord." Psalm cxxvi.
The very heathen acknowledge the good things be-
stowed upon and done for the church, to be from
God ; and God's own peeple acknowledged Him
for tlie mercies granted, and humbly supplicated
mercies from Him for the future. It is God who
gathers the outcasts of rsrael : ft is He who takes
away the captives ef the mighty, the prey of the
terrible ; who conteads with them that contend with
us, and saves our children. It is God who dispens-
eth aiid gathers again. Sometimes God, in a more
Immediate and extraordinary way and manner, con-
fers his blessings and mercies ; sometimes in a more
ordinary and mediate way ; but His providence is to
be acknowledged in all '; not one single mercy comes
to us, without a commission from that God by whom
aiir very hairs are numbered.
Scarcely any of Mr, Willshire'a domestics who
'Aitnessed the happy meeting of myself and hus-
band, could refrain from tears. The poor sailors
who had been so fortunate as to obtain their liberty
seemed really overjoyed at the prospect of my being
once m«»re restored lo the bosom of my family.—
Each seemed anxious to relate to m.e a narrative of
his sufferings and treatment which he received from
the Arabs from the moment of our seperation/ un-
*\\ that of the'r redemption. While some appeared
ia f.ave been tieatc<1 with a small degrse of feniC/^
others bore t ho marks of the most savage cruelty
and certainly could not have survived much linger
under such suffeiings, had they not been providen-
tiat5y redeemed out of ihe hands of the unmerciful
barbarians. By the account given me by my hus-
band, of his deprivations and sui?erings from the
time of our seperation, it appeared that he had tared
no belter than the rest^tvi^o days after my scpera*
tion from them, the Arabs reached ariother village,
which was the place of residence oF three or four
tnore of the conftpany, and where another seperatioii
of the captives look place. My husband, however
being no^ •f this party, he was still compelled to
travel on under the most disagreeable circumstances/
he became so M'eak and emaciated, and his facul-
ties so rapidly declined that he could scarcely hear ob
see, and a vertical sun was so contiRually dartiig
his beams so intensely upon him» that f«r the last
two days of his journey he could scarcely move one
foot before the other. But, haviag at length sue*
ceded in reaching the village of bis master, by the
intercession of on« oi his sons in my husband *s be-
half, he was treated with more humanity, until an
opportunity fortunately presented in which he was
enabled to forward a line to Mogadore, by a man
informing Mr. Willshirc of his situation, as well
as that of his fe!iow captives. On the receipt oi
my husbaiid's letter, that gentleman, wno is so re-
nowned icr his humanity, did not spare a moment to
efiTect his redemption, and adopted sucft meana as
were attended with success ; and by his means seves
more of the unfortunate captives obi^ined their lib-
erty, and returned with us to England in the same
ship, whiGh,_.lhanks to the Supreme Disposer ol all
events, they wer* enabled to do, after having been
held in captivity for nearly six months, in which they
had suffered hardships and trials seldom known to
human nature*
The hospitable Mr. Willshirc inaisted on our re-
maining at his house, until such time as he could
]5^rocure passages fop us to Europe. There indeed
was not an European or white man of any nation, in
the harbor, who did not come to see us, and who gcii»
erousiy supplied us with such articles of clothing,&c.
as we stood most in need of Having refreshed our-
«elves by these e:ood people's bounty, und meeting
^ith so many christian friends at this place, we began
to feel new life, and almost to think ourselves res-
IDred to our former strength and vigour ; though in
reality we were still in a most deplorable condition*
In justice to the Europeans that we found at Mo-
gadorc, 1 must say that we received from them
Blkrks of the most tender interest, and the most
generous compassion ; I think 1 can never suificient-
ly express the sense that I shall ever entertain for
the Fiiidness and humanity of Mr. Wilisliire, whose
whole employment it appeared to be fci several
days to contrive the ber.t me ns to restore ua to
health aLd strength. By him 1 was advised to baths
©very morning, and to confine myself to goat's milk,
excepting a few new laid eggs, together with med-
erate exercise. After a week, he allowed me to take
sorae light chicken broth, with a morsel of the wing.
By the mcaHs of this diet, my health and strength
were in a great measure restored.
The Almighty, by whose will I had probably ve-
ry justly suffered, was at length pleased to deliver
me into the hands of a beaevolent man, whose kind-
ness 1 experienced in every instance. What would
^ave been our condition if we had met with a person
of less sensibility; who thinking he had sufficiently
answered the duties of his office in redeeming us o«t
of the handb of the Arabs, had leit us to shift for
ourselves, with regard to ail other necessaries ! I
can never reflect without the mosi grateful sensibi-
lity, on the goodsess and charity of him whom 1 am
proud to claim as my countryman, and who certain-
ly is an honor to the country which gave him birth.
At our depurture, when my husband attempted t©
Kiake acknowledgments for his bounties, '* I mus^
^eg leave (said the Consul) to interrupt you on this
subject; ycu have deserved every thing I did for yoa>
because you needed it; and I ha ^e done nothing
more in your instance, than I should have a right to
expect myself, in the same circumstances. But my
consideration for your distress (conrinued he) on^ht
to extend beyond tht immediate exigencies of yoav
situation.'*
Having continued at Mogadore until we had per*
N
^74—
fectly recovered our health and strength, a passage
wai' procured for us to Lircrpool ; but we did not
qttit the Barbary coast, however, until 1 had the
pleasure of cononcmning with God. There was a
amali English church at Mogadore, of which our
excellent friend Mr. Wiilshire was the principal
founder ; for among the other qualifications of this
good man, 1 am happy to say that 1 found him a true
believer in the religion of Jesus, How sweetly cal-
culated were the gospel ©rdinances here performed
to enliven the hearts of believers, surrounded aa they
are by a race of idolaters, on whom no light of re-
velation beams ; where there are no other sanctua-
ries— no communion tables — no bread and wine to
peniind them, that a Saviour shed his blood on Cal-
vary for them ! O thou blessed Redeemer, for
poor lost sinners, thou who didst commission thy
disciples of old to preach the gospel to every crea^
turc ; wilt thou send forth laborers, make the wil-
derness a fruitful field, and catise the wilderness to
blessom like the Rose.
Having taken an affectionate leave of our frienda
St Mogadore, on the 1st of February, 1819, we were
in readiness to embaik for our native country. Be-
side my husband and myself, there were six ottiers
of my husband's original crew who had agreed to
work their passage. In forty days fr«>m that on
Vrhich we bid adieu to the coast of Barbary, we were
all safely landed ©n the shores of Old England, and
1h€ day succeeding I was restored to the arms of
— r5—
my friends in Liverpool, who joined with me iiv re-
luming thanks to the Almighty for my wonderful
deliveran€e.
Here Mrs. Bradley concludes her affecting nar-
rative.—Subsequent accounts from Mogtdore state
thai five more of tke crew had found their way back
to that place by the interposicion of Mr. Willshirc.
[The Publisher here begs liberty for the edification
of hi« readers, to subjoin a concise narrative of Ara-
bia, of the laws, custoflis and habits of the Datives,
&c. Ii is copied from (he v/oiks cf authors who
have themselves been held in capti-it)) by the Arabs,
ijid whose statemeBis relating tlicre'.o may be dC'
perded on as facts.- —
ARABIA.
Arabia is in the quarter of Abia ; and, as de-
scribed by historians and geographers, lies, in its
gre-atest exfeyit, betvveen the i2ih and 35th degree of
N. lat. and the j6th and 6iat of E. lontj. From
its aitaation betweea the Isthmus of Suez, the Red
Sea, ifce river Euphrates, the Persian Gu'ph. the
Bay of Ormus the Slreights of Babel-Mandcl,
and the Indian ocean, it may be looked upon as
a peninsula, and that one of the largest in the
woild. Its first division, as we find by sciipture,
was into Arabah and Kedem : Ptolemy dirided
ii into three parts— Sioney Arabia, Desert Aubia,
aftid Happy Arabia.
As a great part of this country lies under the
t9>rid zent) and the tropic ol Cancer pa sses over
Happy Arabia; the air is excessively dry and hot*
A great part of it is a lenesome desert difersified
only with plaint covered wiih sand, and moun-
tains of naked rocks and precipices ; nor ever.
Unless sonnetimes at the equinoxes, refreshed Vfiih
rain. The sands of the deserts, when agitated by
the vyinds, roll like the troubled ocean, and some'
times form huge mountains, by which whole Ca-
talans have been buried or lost. Wells and foun-
tains are exceedingly rare. Those vast plains of
fand are, however, interspersed here and there
T»iih fruitful spots, rebeaiblieg so many islands in
the midst of the ocean : these being rendered ck-
Ircnicly delightful by their verdure, and the more
so by the neighborhood of those frightful deserts,
the Arabs encamp upon them ; and having con^
sumed every thing they find upon one, remove to
another. The southern part of Arabia is blest
with a fertile soil, which has acquired it the title of
Happy : there are producsd tiie valuable gums,
which are carried to all parts of the world ; rich
spices and fruits, and corn and wine.
In Arabia stands Mount Sinai, memorable as
the place where the law was given to the Israelites:
^t the foot of it is a beautiful plain, nearly nine
Zpiles in length, and above three in breadth, ou
tvhich the Israelites eacamped. From Mount Sinai
n»ay be seen Mount Hareb, where Moses keyt il\t
fiocks of Jethro, his father-in-law, when he saw tha
burning bush.
The Arabs are distinguis!ied by historians, as that
remarkable people, of whcin k was foretold, that
tbey should be invincible — '* have their hands a*
gainst every man, and every man's hands against
them." They have inhabited the couatry that they
at present possess, almost from the deloge, without
intermixing with other nations. In the early ages^
tlie Ishmaelites were one of the most considerable
tribes in that country: andKimshi, an oriental his^
lorian, insinuates, that they were originally the
children of Hagar, by an Arab, after she had left
Abraham.
According to the oriental historians, the Arabs are
^ be divided into two elasses, viz the old lost Af
rftbs» and the present. Coneerning the former there
are some traditions, too obscure to b« related here*
The present Arabs, according to their own histo*
riansi are sprung: from Kahtan, the sanne with Jok-
tan, the son of Eber ; and Adnan, descended in e
direct line from Ishmael the son of Alwaham. The
former of these they call the genuine ©r pure Ar^bs
and ihe latter, the naturalized or insitilious Arabs.
Joktan, the son of Eber, had thirteen sons, wh©
sttme lime after the confusion of languages settleil
Iq Arabia, extending themselves from Mesha to Sc-
phar, a 'oountainous place in the south e^^stern pari
of that, peninsula. According ia the Arabian hi.sto»
ri^ns, he had 3^i so»iy all of whom left Arabia, and
went into India, except two, viz. Yarab and Jcrham-j..
the former of whom, they say, gave the came both
to ih&ir country and language. Sshmael and his
mother Hagar having been dismissed by Abraham,
entered into the wilderness of Pai-an, as related in
the book of Genesis. The sacred historian informs
lis, that during his residerce in the wilderness, he
mr.rried an Egyptia?i ; and the Aiabian writers £ay„
that he al?:o took to wife the daughter of Modad,
king of Hcjsz, lineally descended fiom Joiham the
founder of that king^dom- By the E^^yptian he was.
probably the father of the Scenite or Wild Arabs ;
ard havtng' allied himself to the Jorhamites, he is
considered by the Arabians as the father of ihe
greatest partofibeir nation.
B.ut a particular hibtory of the Arabs is asiJe frcfnt
the purpose of this appendix Tfe propagation cf
a new religiou, antJ the founding of a vast empire,
by their countryman Mahomet, arc subjects, wilh
which every one is arquaimed. Their national cha-
racter, which may apply to the nation at large, will
undoubtedly be trisly tlrawn for the. wretched inhab.-
itants of a barren coasi, seperated from society, and
living wholly under the wants of poverty, and the
influence cf evil passioBs : — *' On the seacoast (says
Guthne) they are mere pirates, and make prize of
every vessel they can master, of whatever Dalion."
The perpetual independence of the Arabs " has
been the theme ©f praise (says Mr. Gibbon) among
strangers and Raiive&i The kiwgdf>m of Yemen^, it is
— r9 -
trae, has been successively subdued by the Abys-
5ymans, the Persians, the sultans «f Egypt, aad the
Turks ; the holy cities of Mecca and Medina have
repeatedly bowed under a Scylhian tyrant ; and the
Rc-man province of Arabia embraced the peculiar
wilderness in which Ishn^ael and his sons must have
pitched their tents in the face of their brethren. Yet
these exceptions are temporary or local ; the budy
of the nation has escaped the yoke of the m»st
powerful monarchies : the arms of Stsostris and
Cyrus, of Pompcy and Trajan, could never aciiieve
the conquest of Arabia : the present Sovereign oi
the Turks may exercise a shadow of jurisdiction :
but his pride is reduced to solicit the fiiendship of
a people, whom it is dangerous to provoke, and
fruitless to attack. The obvious causes of their
freedom are inscribed on the character and «ountry
©f the Arabs. Many ages before Mahomet, their
intrepid valour had been severely feii by their neigh.-
bours in offensive war. Tlie patient and active vir-
tues of a soWier are insensibly nursed in the habits
and discipline of a pastoral life. The oare of the
sheep and camels is abandoned to the women ol
the tribe ; but the martial youth under the banner
of the Emir, is ever on horseback, an^ in the field
to practise the exercise of the bow, the javelin, and
the scymetcr. Th« long memory of their indepen-
dence is the firmesi;^ pledge of its perpetuity ; and
succeeding generalions are aj)im..ied to pro\€ their
descetit, and to maiiiiain their inheritance. Theif
^meatU ^euds are suspended on the approach ci^
?K)mmon enemy ; and in tbt jr bbi hostiiuies against
the TurkS; the caravan ol Mecta was attacked and
pillaged by fourscore thou sand of the confede/ates.
Wh?n ^hey ativarjce lo battle, the hope of victory is
in the f.'Oht ; and in the rear, the asburance of a re-
treat. Tiieir horses and camels, who in eight or
ten days cdu pel form a march of four tr five hun-
dred miies, disappear befoie the conqueror ; the
secret v/aters of the desert elude his search ; and
bis victorious trtops are consumed with thiist^
hunger and futigue, in the pursuit of an invisible foe^
T7ho scorns his eiforls, and safely reposes in tfee
heart of the burnij|; solitud©.
" The slaves of domestic tyranny may vainly eK-
Tiltin their national independence: but the Arab is
personally free ; and he enjoys in serae degree, ths
benefits ef society, without forfeiting the prei'oga»
tive» of nature. In every tribe, supei-sliiion or grat-
itude, or fortune, has exalted a particular family a-
fcoTC the heads of their equals. The dignities of
Shaik and £mir invariably descend in this chosen
lace I b«t the, «rder of succession is loose an4 |»re«
darious ; and the most worthy or aged of the oot>le
Jtinsmcn are preferred to the simple theugh import*
ant office of eomposing disputes by their advice, and
guiding vaiour by their example. The monaentar^
junction of several tribes produces an army ; their
more lasting union constitutes a nation ; aiid the Sb-
l^reme Chid, the Ewjir ol Emirs, whose bafiBer rs
— 31 —
displayed at their head, may deserve, in the eves o/
siraugers, the honors of ihc kingly name. Ifihc
Arabian princes abuse their power, tUey are quickly
punished by tkc desertion of their subjects, who
had been accustomed to a mild and parental juris-
diction. Their spirit is free, their steps are uncon-
-fined, the desert is open, and the tribes and families
are held together by a mutual and voluntary com-
pact.
** In the study of nations and m«n, we may ob-
serye the causes that render them hostile ov Iriendly
to each other — that tend to narrow or enlarge, to
mollify or exasperate, the bocial character. The
separatiou tf the Arabs from the rest of mankind
has accustomed them to confound the idea of stran-
ger aqd enemy ; af d the poverty of the land has in-
troduced a maxim of jurihprudence, which they be-
lieve and piaciise to the present hour : they pre-
tend, that in the division of the earth the rich and
fertile tliir.aies were assigned to the other fcranches
of the human family: ai;d that the posieiity of the
outlaw Ishmael might recover, by fraud or force, the
portion of inheritance of which he had been unjustly
deprived. According to the remark of Pliny, the
Arabian tribes are equally addicted to theft a.nd
merchandize j the carcivans that traverse the dt-
seitsre ransomed or pillc.ged ; aed their neighbors,
since the lemotest times of Job and Sesostiis, have
been the victims of their rapacious spirit. It a Ce-
doween diicovers from afar a solitary liavellerj he
O
pieJes furioiisly against him- crying, with a loud
voice, *» Undress ibf^elf thy aunt (my wife) is with*
out a garment.'* A ready submission entilks him
to mercy ; resistance will provoke the aggressor,
and his own blood must expiate the blood which he
presumes to shed in legitimate defence. A single
robber, or a few associates, are branded with their
genuine name ; but the exploitt of a numerous
band assume the character of lawful and honorable
war. The temper of a people, thus armed against
mankind, was doubly inflamed by the domestic li-
cence ot rapine, murdtr, and revenge. In the con-
stitution of Europe, the right of peace and war is
now confined to a small, and the actual exercise
to a much smaller list of respectable potentates ;
but each Arab, with impunity and renown, might
point his javelin against the life of his countryman,
The union of the nation consisted only in a vague re-
semblance 01 language and manners ; and ii> each
Gomraunity the jurisdiction of the magistrate was
mute and impatient. Of the time of ignoranc* which
preceded Mahomet, i700 battles are recorded by
tradition ; hostility was embittered with the rancour
of civil faciicn ; and the recital, in proae or verse,
of an obsolete feud, was sufficient to rekind:e the
same passions among the descendants of hostile
tribes. In private life, every man, at least every
family, was the judge and avenger of its own cause.
The nice sensibility of honor, which weighs the in-
.-^ult rather than the injury, sheds its deadly venom en
iho qu arrets of the Arabs : the honor of their wo-
men, and of their btards, is most easily wounded :
9i\ indecent expression, a contemptuous word, can
he expiated only by the biood ©f the offender ; and
such IS their patient inveteracy, that they expect,
whole months and years the opportunity cf revenge.
A fine or compensation for murder is familiar to the
barbarians cf every age : but in Arabia tke kins-
men of the dead are at liberty to accept the atone-
ment, or to exercise with their own hands the law of
retaliation. The refined malice of the Arab relus-
es even the head of the murderer, substitutes an in-
nocent to ihe guilty person, and transfers the pen-
ally vven to the best and most ccnsiderable of the
race by whom they have been injured. If he falls
by their hands, they are exposed in their turn to
the danger of reprisals ; the interest and principal of
ihe \)!oody debt are accumulated ; the individuals of
either family lead a life of maiiee and suspicion ;
and fifiy years may sometimes elapse, before the
teirible aec<;unt of vengeance be finally eeilled.
This sanguinary spirit, ignorant of pity or forgive-
ness, has been moderated however, by the maxims
of honor, which require in every private encounter
some equality of age and strength, of numberi and
weapons.
" But the spirit of rapine and revenge was at-
tempered by the mildest influence of tradt and U-
israture. Tne solitaf-y peninsula is encompassed by
vWc iroit civilized nations of the ancient world j the
stlerchant is the friend of mankind ; aod the aanual
caravens iwtported the first seeds of kn^wledeje and
politeness into the cities, and even th« camps of the
desert. The arts of grammar, of metre, and of rhe-
toric, were unknown t© the free-born eloquence of
the Arabians; but their penetration was sharp, their
fancy luxuiiant, their wit strong and sententious, and
Ihrir more elaborate compositions were addrcs.
scd with energy and effect on the minds of their hear-
ers. The genius and merit of a rising poet were
celebrated by the applause of his own and the kin-
dred tribes. The Arabian poets were the historians
and moralists oi the age ; and if they sympathised
with the prejudices, they in?«pircd and crowned the
virtues of their countrymen. The indissoluble u-
nion of generosity and valor was the darling theme
of their song ; and when they poirted their keenest
satire agains* a despicable race, they affirmed, in the
bitterness of reproach, that the men knew net how to
give, nor the women to deny. The same hospitali-
ty which was practised by Abraham, and celebrated
hy Komer, is still renewed in the camps of the A-
rabs i thf ferocious Bedoweens, the terror of the
desert, embrace, without enqwiry and hesitation, the
stranger who dares to confide in their honor, and to
enter their tent; his treatment is kind and rctpeciful ;
he shares the weahh or the powers of his host ; andj
after a needful repose, he is dismissed on his way,
"mxh thanksj with bletsings, and perhap?' with gifts.*'
The rich Arabs have one, two, or three slavea,
male and female j ihese arc allowed to sleep on the
same mat with their masters and mistresses, and are
tfeated in all respects like the children of the family
in regard lo apparel, &c. — they are not, however,
permitted to marry or cohabit with the Arab women,
under pain of death, and are obliged to take care of
the camels and follow them, and to do other drudg-
ery, such as getting fuel, &€. but thoy will not obey
the women, and raiie their voices higher than their
master or any of his cfeiidreti in a dispute^ and cor-
sequtntly are considered smart fellows. They mar-
ry among their own colour while they are staves
with the consent of their masters, but the children
remain slaves. After a slave has served his master
faithfully far a long time, or has done him some es-
semial service, he is made tree : he th^n enters into
all the privileges that the free Arabs enjoy, and can
marry into any of their families, which he or she
never fails to do, and thus become ideniifitd with the
families of the tribe in which they were slaves, and
may ri»e lo the very bead of it. The negroes are
f^eneraJly active and brave, are seldom pmished
with stripes, and those who drive the camels do not
jscruple to milk them when they are (birsly, but take
care not to be discovered : they are ext^ emely cun-
liing, and will steal any thing they caD gel at to eat
or drink fr«m their masters, er indted any one else.
If they are caught in the act of stealing, they are
emly ihieat»necl, and promised a flogging tiie next
P
iirne. The father of the family is its absolute chief
in all respects, though he seldom ii^flicts punish-
ment: his wives and daughters are considered as
inerc slaves, subject to his will or caprice ; yet they
take every eppoitumty to deceive or steal from hina :
he deals out the milk to each wiih his own hand, nor
iare any one toiich it uniil it is thus divided : he
always assists in milking the camels, then puts the
xniik into a large v/odden bowK which has probably
Wen in the family for ages : some of the largest
Kowls will contain five gallons; they are frequently
split in evevy direction, and the s{»lit parts are fast-
ened together with small iron plates, with a rivet at
each end, made of the same metal. All the milk is
thrown into the great bowl ; then, if in the old man's
opinion, theie is a sufficient quantity for a good
^rink round, he takes a small bowl, (of which sort
they generally have two or three,) and af.er washing
$ind rubbing it out with sand, he begins to distribute
the milk, by giving|to each grown person an equal
share, and to the children in proportion te their size,
nieasuring it very exactly, and taking a proportion-
ate quantity to himself. If there is any left, be has
it put into a skin, to serve for a drink at nooB the
next day : if there is not a sufficient quantity of
milk for a good drink all round, the old man fills it
,up with water (if they have any) to a certain mark
in the bowl) and then proceeds to serve it as before
related.
— sr—
Th^ camels are driven out early in the morning'
and home about dark, when they are made to lie
down before the tent of their owner, very near, with
their tails towards it ; a doubled rope with a large
knot in one end is then put round the knee joint
when the leg is doubled in, and the knot being then
thrust throuf^h ihe double part at the other end, ef«
fectually fastens the knee, bent as it is, so that th«
camel cannot ^ei up to walk off, having but the uso
of three of his legs. This kind of feecket is ahp
fixed on ihe knees of the old camels that lead ihs
drove ; and the others remain quiet when their lead-
ers are fast ; in this manner they are suffered to lie
until about midnight, when they have had time to
cool and the milk to collect in their bags — the becket
is then taken off, and as soon as they get up, the net
which covers the bag lo prevent the young ones
from consuming the milk, is loosened— tllis is fast-
ened on by two cords, ihat go over the back of the
camel, aid are kpoUed together. As each camel is
milkedj the r.et ib carefuily replaced, and she is mada
10 lie down in the t-ame p'ace again ; here they lie
until daylight, when all the camels are made lo get
up ; a liule milk is then drawn from each, and the
young ones are sufftied to suck out the remainder}
vvhen the net is put in iis place agaia, not to be re-
moved until the follow itjg midnight. While the
head uf the family is busied milking the camels and
suckling the young ones, assisted by all the malesj
.the wife ai.d females are striking and tolUing up the
tent', selecting the camels to carry the stuffj anji
biinging them near, where they make them lie down
and pack on them the tent and all the other mate-
rials. This being done, they fasten a leather or skin
basket, about four feet wide, fitted wiih a kind ci"
tree, like a saddle on the back of one of the lamest
camels, in which the women place the old men and
fvumen that cannot walk and the young children}, and
frequently them^iclves, and proceed forward accord-
ing to their daily custom. The women take cars o^
the stuff and the camels that carry it, and of the
child I en ; the other camels are driven off by slaves,
if ihey have any, if not by some of the boys, and
kept where there are some shrubs to be found, until
i.iifljt. The old man, or head of th^ family, geiie-
rally precedes the women and stuff, after having de-
scribed to lh£m the course they are to steer. I1&
sets off on his camel, with his gun in his hand, at a
full trot, and goes on until he finds a fit place in
which to piich the tent, when he gives the informa-
tion to hia wife, who then proreeds with all possible
dispatch to the spot, unloads her camels, and lets
them ge ; iheo she spreads her tent, puts all th,s
stuff under it, clears away the smuir stones^ and
spreads her mat, arranges her bowls, hangs up the
skins containing water, (if they have a.iy,) on a kind
of horse or frame that folds together, &c. &c. They
ftari long before sun- rising in the morning, aud cal-
culate to pitch their tents at about four o'clock h
the aftcrnoo49j if they can find a convenienl spol#..
^&9—
Cftherwise a liltle sooner or later. Whea one fan^iiy
sets off, the whole of that part of the tribe dwelling
near, travel on with thera. As soon as the place 13
agreed on, the raen go out on their camels with their
guns, different ways, to reconnoitre, and see if they
have enemies near.
T-he Arabsvvho inhabit ihc great western desert^
arc in their persons about five feet seven or eig!»t
inches in height ; and tolerably well set in their
frames, though lean ; their complf xion is of a dark
olive ; they have high cheek bones and aquiline
noses rather prominent : lank cheeks, thin lips, and
rounded chiss ; tkeir eyes are black, sparkling, an4
iiiieliigent ; they have long black hair, coarse, and
very thick ; und the men cut theirs off wiih their
knives, to the length of about bis or eight inches,
ar.d leave it sticking out in e-very direction from
iheir head. They ail wear loag bcafds — their limbs
are straight, and they can endure hunger, thirst*
hardships, and laiigues, probably better than any
other people under heaven; their clothing in gen-
eral is nothing more than a piece of. coarse clotK*
made of camel's hair, tied round their waists, hang-
ij]g neasly. down to their knees; or a goat skin se
fastened on, as to cover iheir nakednees ; but some
tfihe rich ooes wear a coveiing of iijien or cottcu
cloth over their shoulders to their knees, hanging
something like a shift or shirt, without slecvcsi and
souie have besides, a haick or woollen blanket about
iliir i'^Qi viidoy aftd four yards. longj which ihoft
—.90*-
vrap about them ; but this is the case only with ike
rich, and their number is very small. These haicks
and blue shirts, they get from the empire of Moroc-
co in exchange for camels' hair and rstrich-fealhers ;
the only commodity in which they can trade. The
Arab women are short and meager ; and their fea-
tures much harder and more ugly than those of the
men : but they have long black hair, which they braid
and tuck up in a bunch on their hcads» and fasten it
there by means of thorns. Tliey generally wear
strings of black beads Tound their necks, and a white
jircular bone, of three inches in diameter, in thcie
hair, wiih bands of beads or oiher ornaments around'
their wrists and ankles. Their cheek bones ar^
high and prominent ; their visages and lips are
thin, and the upper lip is kept up by means of the
two eye {eelh. They take great pains to make
these teeth project forward f and turn up quite in
fiont of the iiiiC of their other fore-teeth, which are
as white and sound as ivory. Their eyes are rouwd,
black, \QYy expressive, and extremely beautiful,
particularly in the young women, who are general-
ly plump and iuscivious- The women wear a dress
of coarse canif Is* hair cloih, which ihey manufac-
ture in the same way they make their tent cloth : it
covers their shoulders,, leaving iheir arms and breasts
naked ; ii is sewed up on each side, and falls down
nearly to their knees ; they have a fold in this like
a sack, next heir skin on their shoulders, in which
fhey carry their little chiiilren j and the breasts ottb©
middle aged women become so extremely long, lan^
and pendulous, that they have no olher trouble in
nursing the child which is on their backs, when
walking about, than to throw up their breasts over
Ae top of their shoulders, so that the child may
apply its lips.
All the Arabs go barefoot; the children, both
male and female, before they come to the age of pu-
berty, run about entirely naked, and this exposure to ,
*he sun is one great cause of their black colour^
'/he males are all circumcised at ihe age cf eight
years, not as a religious rile, but because it is i(. jnd
necessary as a preventative of a disease incident to
the climate. The men are very quick active and
intelligent— naore so taken collectively than any
other that ever were kuown to inhabit the
different parts of the world before visited. They
are the lords and masters in their families* and
are very severe and cruel to their wives, whom they
treat as mere necessary slaves, a.id ihey do not allow
them even as much liberty as they g'ant to their ne-
groesj either in speech or action ; they are consider-
ed by the men as beings without souls, and conse-
quently they are not permitted to join in their devo»
tionsj but are kept constantly drudging at something
or other, and are seldom allowed to speak when
men are conversing together. They are very fil-
thy in their persons, not even cleansing themselves
with sand, and are covered with vermin. Tbc con-
tinual harsh trcatmcnti and hard diudgcry to yiWicb
they are subject, have wprn off that fine edge of cle,
licacy, senhioility. and compassion, so naiuial to
iheir sex? and iransfonnf d >htm ir.io unfeeling and
unpityiDg beiLgs, so much so, tl;ai xhc'ir ©onduct to*
wards such of thos* urfortunalc pv-rsons as fall into
their hauds brutal in the extreme, and betray
the extinction of every huniar.e arid jfene!©us
feeling.
The Arab is high spirited, brave, avaricious, r2»
7engeful : and, strange as it may appear, is at tlie
same lima hospitable and compassionate ; he is
proud of being able to maintain his iRdependencCj
ihougb on a dreary desert, and despises those who
Greso mean and degraded as to subitiij to any gov-
ernment but that of the Most High. He struts a.
Wut sole master of what wealth he possesses- always
yeady to defend it, and believes himself the happiest
of men, and the most learned also : handing down
the tradition of his ancestors, as he is persuaded, for
thousands of years. He looks upon all othe'r men to
fee vile, and beneath his notice, except as merchan-
dize ; he is content to live oh the milk of his cam-
els, which he takes great care to rear, and thaiikft
l)is God daily for his cofitinua) mercies. They con-
sidered themselves as much above their christian
captives, both in intelUci and acquired knowledg^e, as
tlic preud and peni^tred West India planter, (long
acGUstomed to rule over slaves) fancies himself a«>
bove the mcanttst rcw ntgro just brought in chaiits
from tbe coa^ •f Africa. Tae^ ocvt^r correu their
'tta!e children.'but the females are beat wiihoni mer-
cy. The men are not cruel to prisuueis than they
Cor.sider them obstinate, and al>7ays give them a
small share of what they themselves have tosub^ht
on.
Marriages among Ihcm are frequent, and are per-
formed as follows:— -when a young man sees a ^iri
that pleases hire, he asks her of her lather.and she be*
'comes his wife without ceremony. Polygamy is al-
lowed, but the Arabs of the desert have but very
seldom more than one wife, except the rich ones,
\?ho have need of servants, when they take another
wife, and sometimes a third.
They all learn to read and write; in every family
ordivisiorj of a tribe, they have boards of from one
foot square to two feet long, and about an inch
Ihick by eighteen inches wide ; on these boards the
ohildrcn iearn to write with a piece of poirued reed,
they have the secret of making ink, ai.d ihat of a
very black dye ; when a family of wandering Arabs
pitch their tents, they set apart a place for a school^
this they surround with broken shrubs in the de-
eert, to keep off* the wind— ^M^re all the boys who
have been circumcised, ol from eight to eigtiteeo or
twenty yeai s old, aitend* and are taught to read and
*j6) write verses from the Koran, whicd is kept in
manusciipt by every family on skins: they ■v.it©
tiieir ciiaracters from right to left — arc very par-
ticular in the formation of them, and r-ak»r tl»cir
Isnes Tery straight ; ail the ciiUdren atund irom
Q
chcice or ainusement. — The teacher, it is saldi
never punishes a child, but explains the meaning
of things, and amuses him by telling talas that are
both entertaining and instructive; he reads or re-
hearses chapters from the Koran or some other book;
for they have a great many poems, &c written also
on skins : when the board is full of writing, they
rub it off with sand, and, begin again. The
hoards on which they write appear to have lasted
for ages; they are sometimes split in many places, and
are kept together by small iron plates on each side,
iixed by iron rivets ; these plates, as well as their
rude axes, of which each family has one, are made
of tempered iron by the smiths, vyhich belongs to
and journey with the tribe— they work with great
dexterity. They burn small wood into charcoal, and
any it with them on camels : their anvil is made of
a piece of iron a foot long, and pointed at the end—
this they drive into the grownd to work on ; the head
of the anvil is abonl six inches over ; they make
their fire in a small hole dug in the ground for that
purpose, and blow it up by means of two skins curi-
ously fixed ; so that while one is filling with air,
they blow with the other, standing between them—
^viih a hand placed on each, they raise and depress
them at pleasure. By means ef a clumsy hammer,
an anvil, and hot irons to bore v/iih, they manage to
Sk the saddles for themselves to ride on, and to make
knives end a kind of needles, and small rough bladcd
«xes. This f 3rge is carried about without the small
est inconvenience, so that the Arabs even of the
^csart are better provided in this respect than the
the Israelites were in the days of Saul their King,
Samuel, chap. xiii. verses 19 to 23^ — " Now there
was no smith in all the land of Israel ; for the Phi-
listines said, " Lest the Hebrews make them swords
or spears." An undutiful child ©f civilized parents
might here learn a lesson of filial piety and benevo-
lence from these barbarians ; the old people always
received the first drhik of milk, and a larger share
than even the acting head of the family when they
\Tere scanted in quantity ; whenever the family mov-
ed forward, a camel was first prepared for the old
rsan, by fixing a kind of basket on the animal's
back ; they then put skins or other soft thinjjs into
■t, to make it easy, and next lifting up the old man,
they place him carefully in the basket, with a child
or two on each side, to take care of and steady him
during the march, while he seems to sit aod hold on
more from long habit than from choice. As soon as
hey stopped lo pilch the tents, the old man was
taken from his camel, and being carefully seated,
drink of water or milk given him, for they take
rare to sjive some f^r that particular purpose. When
the lent was pitched, he was carefully taken up and
;>lacc:l u^iaVir it on iheir mat, where he could g© t6
^'ecp.
DESCRIPTION OF AN ARABIAN CAMEL
OR DROMEDARY
The Arabian camel, called by the ancients anfl
by naluralists, the dromedary, is, perhaps the most
singular, and, at the same time one of the most
useful animals in nature He is, when full grown,
from eight to nine feet in height, and about ten to
twelve feet in length from the end of his nose to the
root of his tail ; his body is small, compared with
ilis heighth : he resembles in shape that of a goose
more than any oiher animal, being long and slender,
and it seems to grow out of the lower part of his
body between his fore legs ; he raises his head to
Ihe height ol his back, poking his nose «ut horizon-
tally, so that his face looks directly upwards, and hi«
Dose bone so high as to be on a line with the top of
the hunch en his back ; his head h small, his ears
aiiort ; bis eyes are of various colours, from a black
to almost a white j bright, and sparkling with in-
stinctive intelligence, and placed on the sides of hia^
l^ead in such a manner, that he can see behind, and
On every side at the same lime. His lail is shorti
and hangs like that of a cow. with- a small buirJi ol
hair at the end ; his legs are long and slender,
though their joinis are stout and strong ; his feet
are divided something like those of an ox ; but he«
has no hoof except on the extreme points of the
toes ; in other pa»ts they are only covered with-
akiu; and are soft and yielding^ the soles oi his feet
are not thicker than stout sole leather : be is gene-
TaUjr of a light ash color, but varying from that to a
i^ark brown, and sometimes a reddish brown : ma-
ny of them are also marked with white spots or
stripes on their foreheads, and on ^ifFereat partsof
their bodies j the hair on his body is short and fiae,
^ike the finest of wool, and serves the Arab instead
of that ncces&ary article with which they make th»ir
tent cloth and coarse covering ; it is pulled or else
falls o^ once a year ; the hair about his throat an4
on the hump is -eight or t»n inches in length, and
hangs down ; he has a high bunch on his backi
which rises from his shoulders, and comes to a blant
poiot at about the centre of his back, and tapers off
to his hips ; this bunch is from one to two feet high
abeve the back bone, and not attached to it nor to the
frame of the camel, S9 that in skinning him the A-
rabs tak» off the bunch with it which is larger or
smaller, as the camel is fat or lean. He v/ho rides
on a camel without a saddle (which saddle is pecu-
liarly constructed so as not to touch the bnnch) ia
forced to get on behind it, where the breadth of the
body keeps the rider's legs extended very wide,
while he is obliged to keep himself from slipping off
over the beast's tail, by cienching both hands into
the long hair that covers the bunch.
The camel is a very domestic animal ; he lias
down on his belly at the command •f his mastci^
folding his le^s under him something like a sheep ;
liitic he r»^?ij;:i*j? torect.i\c his rider oi his burcl^H
R
>^98 —
^vhen he rises at a word, and proceeds in the way
he is driven or directed, with the utmost docility and
cheerfulness, while his master encourages hina by
singing. The Arabs use neither bridle nor ha'.'er,
but guide and manage the camel (whose head is
quite at liberty) by mc^ns of a stick, assisted by
word* and of ihe tongue ; havino^ one sound to urge
him on faster ; one to make him go slower ; and a
third, which is a kind of cluck with the tongue, to
make him stop. He chews his cud like an ox, and
has no fore teeth in his upper jaw : but his lips are
long and rough, so that he nips olTlhe rugged shrubs
without difficulty, on which he is obliged to feed.
The camel seems to have been formed by nature to
live on deserts ; he is patient, fleet, strong and hardy ■»
can endure hunger and thirst better than any other
animal, can travel through deep and dead sands with
great ease, and over ihe flinty parts of the desert
without difficulty, though it is h^rd for him to go up
or down steep hills and mountams, and to travel on
'Riuddy roads, as he slips about and strains himself;
^ut he is sure footed, and walks firmly on a hard
Jdry surface, or on sand. We have never made the
natural history of animals our study, and it cannot be
expected that we should be acquainted with the par-
ticular formation of their' interior parts; but we will,
\enture to say a few words in regard to the camel
* without fear of contradiction from any one who shall
see and examine for himself, having assisted in
butchering several ©i these animal*.
The camel is described by naturalists as having,
besides the four stomachs common to ruminating an-
imals, a fifth bag, exclusively a reservoir for neater
where it remains without coi ruptinij or mixing with
the other aliments; this is a mistake — for the bag
that holds the water contains also the chewed her-
bage, and is in the camel what a paunch is in an ox.
Into this bag all the rough chewed herbage enters,
where it is Roftened by the waier, throvvn again into
the mouth, chewed over, and passes off by another
canal, and the foeees are so dry, that the day after
they are voided, the Arabs strike tire on them in-
stead of touchwood or punk.
The camel is considered by the Arab as a sacred
animal ; with him he can transport a load of mer-
chandize of several hundred weight wiih certain-
ty and celerity through deserts utterly impassable
with any other animal. On hiin the wandering
Arab can flee wiih his family fr@m*any enemy across
the trackless wasie one hundred miles •? more in a
..iDgle day if he wishes, and out of the reach of his
pursuers, for the desert like the ocean neither re-
tains nor discloses any trace of the traveller. Its
milk is both food and drink for the whole family,
and when they have a sufficiency of that article, they
ar& contented, and desire nothing more: with his
camel the Arab is perfectly independent, and can
bid defiance to all the forces that uncivilized foes can
send against him ; with him they collect in siroBjr
bands, all well armed) and fail upon the caravans.
*— 1©0—
alaying without mercy all they ean •verpoweF, and
divide their spoil : should they meet a repulse, they
can flee and soen be out of sight ; they also attack the
settlements and small walled towns in the cultivated
country near the desert, and if strong enough, des-
troy all the goods of the slain they carry away on
their camels, and return to the desert, where no
force can pursue them without meeting with certain
destruciion.
The camel's motions are extremely heavy and
jolting ; his legs being long, he steps a great dis-
tance, and though he appears to go slowly when on
a walk, yet he proceeds at about the rate of four
miles an hour, and it is difficult for a man to keep
pace vviih him without running. When the camel
t.ots, he goes vei^ fast ; the small trot being about
six, and the great ones about eight or nine miles an
hour — this they can do with great ease with light
J»ads for a whole day together, and will replenish
Iheir stomachs at night with the leaves and twigs
of the sullen thorn bufh, tl at is barely permitted
by nature to vegetate in the most dreary and deso*
late of all regions. The fiesh of the camel is good
for food ; and that of the young ones is esteemed
preferable to that of the ox. They bring forth a
single young one at a time, and generally one©
jn about two years, their time of gestation being a»
bout one year. When the camel is in a heat, he is
extremely vicious, so that none dare ceme neaf
him.
The Arabs arc in general Mahometans ; some of
them are pagans. This country was the birth place
of Mahomet. He taught the necessity of beliefing
in God, the existence of angels, the resurrection and
future judgment, and the doctrine of absolute de-
crees. The duties which he enjoined were prayer,
iive times in a day, fasting, charity, and a pilgrimage
to M«cca. Their religion forbids the use of images,
though anciently they were idolaters, and the same
rites, which are now practised by Mahometans,
were invented and practised ky idolaters. From
Japan to Peru, all round the glebe, sacrifices have
prevailed ; the votary has expressed his gratitude
©r his fear by destroying, or consuming in honor of
the gods; the most precious of their gifis. The life
of man is the most precious oblation to deprecate
any calamity ; therefore the altars of Phoenicia and
Egypt, of Rome and Carthage, have been pollated
with human gore. The Arabs, like the Jews, abstain
from swine's flesh, and circumcise their children.
The B miaos are a sect tolerated here. They pro-
fess to love every thing, which breathes, to assist
every thing which is in pain, to abhor the spilling of
b!ood, and to abstain tiom food, that has Ci Joyed life.
1 he Europeans trust ihem to do all their business
with the Arabs, and they are always fous d honest.
The Wahabees, a new sect, who are mi.iiary con^
queroTs, have risen here, changh:g their religioni
and foi bidding pilgrimage to Mecca, so that the
•-102 —
mighty fabric of Mahometanism is rapidly passihg-
About twelve milli®n five hunrlred and fifty theu-
sand poijads of coffee are annually exported. The
Europeans take 1,500,000 ; ihe Persians 3,500,000 »
the fleet from Suez takes 6 500>000 ; Hindcstan, the
Maldives, and the Arabian colonies in Africa, take
500,000 pounds ; the caravans IjOOO.OOO* The ave-
rage price of the cofiee is about ten cents and four
mills per pound ; the dearest is about 12 cents, la
Arabia none but ♦he rich citizens taste of coffee j the
common people are content with the shell and husk.
These have the taste of coffee without the strength
or bitterness.
Arabia carries on a profitable traffic with Aby-
slnia, and other parts of Africa, with Europe, and
the East Indies,
Mecca is the principal city and was supported
by the resort of pilgrims, 70,000 of whorn visited that
place every year. But the recent conquests of the
Wahabee have put a step t© this custom, which was
the life-blood ot Mahometanism aud of Arabian com-
merce. The buildings are mean. It is 34 miles
from Judda, lat. 31, 45 east. It i« an inland town,
Surrounded by hills, a day's journey from the Red
sea. It is the huly city of Mahometans ; no chris-
tian is allowed to enter it. The temple of Mecca
has 42 doors, and is said to be nearly 67© yards iiv
length, and 570 in breadth. In the centre is a paved
court> en all sides of which are cells for those who
— 163—'
oons«crate themselves to a life of devotion. The
door is covered with plates of silver ; before it is a
curtain, thick with gold embroidery. This sacred
Caaba is the principal object of ihc pilgrim's devo-
tion, and is open but two days in sx weeks ; one for
the men, and one for the vvonnen. Its walls are marble,
hun^ routed with silk, and lighted by four silver
lamps. Twelve paces from the Caaba, theypietcnd
to show Abram's sepulchre. After perfotming their
devotions, the pilgrims retire te a hill whcie, af^er
various ceremonies, they are pronounced hadgies or
saints, and suppose heaven is bure.
In the Caaba is one relic, sacred to the Arabs as
the cross is to the catholics. It is a black stone,
brought by GaDiiel from heaven for theconstruc-
4ioB of this edifice. Tnis stone, they say, was first
of a clear, white colour: dazzling the eyes ot peo-
ple at the distance of four days* jo'Utney, By weep,
ing so long and so abundantly fur the sins of man-
kind, it became opaqwc, and finally black. This ten-
der hearted stone, every Mahon.etan mubt kiss or
touch every time he goes reund the Caaba. Tluy
5'jppose the temple founded on the stone upon v hich
Jacob rested his head at Bethel, when Hying licta
the wrath of Esau. Aden is a seaport of Aiabje
Felix, on the coast of the. Indian ocean. It i as a
good harbor, and was formerly a mart of extensive
commerce, which is now incoasiderable. It is the-
capital of a country to which it gives name. Medi-
na is a small, poor place, sui rounded by walls. In
— 104-.-
the temple is the tomb of Mahomet, surrounded by
curtains, aod lighted wiih lamps.
Bedow»ens is a modern name by which the
wild A;abs are distinguished, who inhabit ihe de-
serlfe, who live in tents, and \\.ho are perpetually re-
moving from one place to another, Such is the si-
tuation in which nature has placed these people—
ui^der a sky almost perpetually inflamed and with-
out clfeuds, in the midst of immense and boundless
jylains, without houses, trees, rivulets, or hills — as
to make of them a race of men equally {singular
in their physical and moral character. This singu-
larity is so striking, that even their neighbors the
Syrians regard them as extraordinary beings, espe-
cially those tribes v?hich dwell in the depths of the
dtbtrt, and never approach the towns. When in
the time of Shaik Daher some of their horsemen
«4a me as far as Acre, they excited the same curi-
Obity there, as a visit from the savages of Americs)
would in Europe. Every body viewed with sur
prifcethfjse men, who were more diminutive, meagre
and swarthy, than any of the known Bedoweensj
their withered legs v. ere only composed of tendons
ard had no calves ; their bellies seemed to cling tt
#ieir backs; and their hair was -frizzled almost a*
much as that of th;j Negroes. They, on the other
hand, were no less astonished at every ibing they
saw ; thry co>>id neither coQceive hovr the houses
and ;iijinarets could st.'J»d erect, nor how men ven-
tured to dwell beneath vhem, and always in the same
— 105—
spot; but, above all, they were in an ccstncy or. be-
holding the sea nor coulrl they comprehend what
that desert of water could be. In general the Be-
doweens are small, meagre, and tawny ; more so,
however, in the heart of the desert than on the fron-
tiers of cultivated country ; but they are always of a
darker hue than the neighboring peasants. They
also differ a«iong themselves in the same camp;
the Shaiks, that is, the rich* and tho'r attendants,
being always taller and more corpulent than the
Arabians of the common class ; M. Volney has
seen some of them above 5 feet 6 inches high|
♦ hough in general they do not exeeed 5 feet 2 inch-
es. This diff«rence is only to be attributed to their
food, with which the former are supplied more abund-
antly than the latter. The lower class live in a state
©f habiiual wretchedness and famine : it is a facfj
that the quantity of food usually consumed by the
greater part of ih«m does cot exceed six ounces a
day : six or seven dates soaked in melted butter, a
little sweet milk or curds, serve a man a whole day;
and he esteems himself happy when he can add a
small quantity of coarse flour, or a Utile ball tf rice.
Meat is reserved for the greatest fesiivals ; and
they never kill r kid, but for a mariiage or a fune-
ral. A few wealthy and generous Shaiks alone can
kill young camels, and eat baked rice with their vic-
tuals. In times of dearth, tlie vu'gar, always half
fajTiished. do not disdain the most wretched kinds of
ffiod ; and eai locusts, rats, lizards, and serpent^
S
feroiled &» briars. Hence are they such plunder-
ers of the cultivated lands, and robbers on the high
roads ; hence, alsa, their delicate constitution, and
their diminutive and meagre bodies, which are ra-
ther active than vigorous.
The Bedoweens have as little industry as their
wants are few. They have no books, and are igno-
rant of all science. All their literature co».sists in
reciting tales in the nianner of the Arabian Nights*
Entertainment. In the evening they seat themselves
on the ground ; and there, ranged in a circle round
a little fire of dung, their pipes in their mouths, and
their legs crossed, they sit a while in silent medi-
tation, till on a sudden one of them breaks forth
with, ** Once on a time" — and continues to recite
the adventures of some young Shaik and female Be*
doween ; he relates in what manner the youth first
got a secret glimpse ©f his mistress, and how be be-
came secretly enamored of her; he fninately des-
cribes the lovely fair : boasts her black eyes, as large
and soft as those ©f the gazelle ; her languid and
impaisioned looks ; her arched eyebrows, resembling
two bcws of ebeny ; her waist, strait and swpple as
a lance; he forgets not her steps, light as those of
\he young filly ; nor her eye-lashes, blackened with
• k«hl : n©r her lips, painted blue ; nor her nails,
tinged with the golden colored henna; nor her
breasts, resembling two pi^megranaies; nor her
words, sweet as honey. He j^recounls the suffcr-
ingi ©f the young lover, so wasted with desire and
passion, that his body no longer yields any shadov/.
At length, after detailing his various attempts to see
his mistress, the obstacles of the parents, the inva-
sions of the enemy, the captivity of the lovers, &c.
he terminates, to the satisfaction of the audience,
by restoring them united and happy, to the paternal
tent, and by receiving the tribute paid to his elo-
quence, in an exclamation of praise, equivalent \o
Admirably well I
The Bedoween is a shepherd,\vithout all the inno-
eence of that character. The facility of passing rap-
idly over exiensive tracts of country, renders him a
wanderer. He becomes greedy from want, and a
robl^er from greediness. A plunderer rather than a
warrior, he possesses no sanguinary courage ; he at-
tacks oiiiy to despoil ; and if he meets with no re-
sistance, never thinks a small booty is to be put in
competition wiik his life. To irritate hina, you
must shed his blood ; in which case he is as obsti-
nate in his vengeance, as he was cautious in avoid-
ing danger.
Notwithstanding: their depredatiens ©n strangers^
among -hemseives the Bedoweens are remarkable
for a good faith, a disinterestedness, a generosity,
which would do honor to the most civilized people.
What is there more noble than the right of asylum,
so respected among all the tribes ; a stranger, nay,
even an enemy, touches the tent of the Bedoween,
and from that instant his person is inviolable. It
would be reckoned a disgraceful meanness, an inde-
Jible shame, to satisfy even a just vengeance at tke
expense of ho£>pitality. Has the Bedoween consent,
ed to eat bread and salt with hh guest, nothing can
induce him to betray him. The Bedoween, so ra-
pacious without his camp, has no sooner set his fott
within it, than he becomes liberal and generous;
•what little he possesses he is ever ready to divide —
lie has even the delicacy not to wait till he is ajked— •
\?hen he takes his repast, he affects to scat himself
at the door of his tent in order to invite the passen.
gers ; his generosity is so sincere, that he docs not
look on it as a merit, but merely as a duty, and he
therefore readily takes the sj^me liberty with others.
The unqualified liberty enjoyed by the Bedoweens
extends even to matters of religion, his true, that
on the frontiers of the Turks they preserve, from
policy, the appearance of Mahometonism ; but so re-
laxed is their observance of its ceremonies, and so
liltlie fervor has their devotion, that they arc gene-
rally considered as infidels, who have neither law
cor prophets. They even make no difficulty in say-
ing, that the religion if Mahorret was not made for
them — " For (add they) how shall we make ablu-
tions, who have no water ? How can we betiow aims,
w*ho arc not rich ? Why should we fast iii the R^ra-
adan, since the whole year with us is one continual
fast ? And what ne» cssity is there for us to make
the pilgrimage to Mecca; if God be pre&ent everf
where ?
1
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